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Laker Volleyball Sweep Pioneers at Midwest Crossover

Laker Volleyball Sweep Pioneers at Midwest Crossover

Game Leaders

Malone
K: Gabby Rodriguez - 6
B: Jaymes Gilbert - 4
D: Macy McCauley - 11
SA: 3 Players (#4, #11, #13) - 1
Lake Superior State
K: Mariana Velasque - 19
B: Morgan Deming - 3
D: Ally Lasley - 14
SA: Mariana Velasque - 4

Team Stats

Malone
Lake Superior State

Hitting %

0.165
0.386

Blocks

6
4

Digs

31
41

Aces

3
11
full stats
Oct 13, 2023

HAMMOND, Ind. - The Lake Superior State (LSSU) volleyball team (5-13, 3-6 GLIAC) came away with a straight-set victory over the Malone Pioneers (3-17, 1-8 G-MAC) on the first day of the 2023 Midwest Crossover on Friday.

The Lakers jumped out to the early lead in the opening set with a 6-1 run behind a pair of kills from true freshman Rachel Steele (Eaton Rapids, Mich.), and they would continue to press the attack with a 9-1 run that ended with back-to-back kills from Hannah Callaway (Portage, Mich.) to take a 16-5 lead. The Lakers would have one more big run left in them with an 8-0 scoring spurt to extend the lead to 24-6, and after the Pioneers staved off four set points, the Lakers would ultimately go up 1-0 in the match.

The Lakers would once again jump out to an early lead after a pair of kills from Mariana Velasque (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), but the Pioneers hung around to tie up the score at 10-10. However, LSSU responded with a 10-2 run that featured back-to-back service aces from Jordyn Haller (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.), and a kill from Anastasjia Dragovic (Belgrade, Serbia) closed out the second set at 25-15.

Both teams would battle throughout the third set with the largest lead for either side being the Lakers by four after back-to-back aces by Velasque, but with the score tied at 20-20, Velasque was able to put away three of the final five Laker points to take the set and the match by respective scores of 25-23 and 3-0.

Velasque led the way offensively with 19 kills on an efficient hitting percentage of .500 while Callaway led all players with a hitting percentage of .571 for nine kills. Steele and Emilee McDaniel each notched six kills on the day with McDaniel reaching the 500 kill mark for her career. Meanwhile, Emily Kalinowski (South Lyon, Mich.) averaged 14 assists per set in the victory and Ally Lasley (Birch Run, Mich.) led all players with 14 digs, defensively.

The Lakers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 14 for a pair of matches against Southwest Baptist and Lake Erie for the second and final day of the 2023 Midwest Crossover.