SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's volleyball team will open its 2021 home season this weekend with a pair of matches against the Ferris State Bulldogs. The series will open on Friday, Feb. 26 at 3:30 p.m. and wrap up on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1:00 p.m. Both Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contests will take place in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
The Lakers
Following back-to-back losses in the opening weekend of the season, the Lakers will look to have a strong return to the court this weekend in the team's home opening series. Following a 8-19 overall record (2-14 GLIAC) during the 2019 season, head coach Dave Schmidlin will guide the Lakers as he enters his fourth season in the role at Lake Superior State.
This season, the Lakers will play a conference-only schedule, playing all 14 games against GLIAC opponents. The regular season will be spread out over seven weeks with games on back-to-back days against the same opponent. Last weekend, the Lakers traveled to Houghton, Mich. to play a tough Huskies team and fell in both matches by scores of 3-0.
Seniors Kyra Vezina, an outside hitter, and Sarah Bailey, an outside hitter, will be looked upon by Coach Schmidlin for leadership on and off the floor this season. Vezina appeared in 24 matches and 80 matches last season as a defensive specialist, totaling 167 digs and 19 assists. Bailey appeared in all 27 matches during the 2019 season and was third on the team with 154 kills.
The junior class of middle hitter Bethany Wilson, middle hitter Camdyn Odykirk, setter Halle Grulke, and defensive specialist Rylee Eisenga will all be key returners for this year's Laker team. Wilson, who appeared in all 27 matches last season, ranked fourth on the team in kills with 132 and first on the team with 43 blocks. Odykirk registered the second most kills on last year's team, and the most among returning players, with 189. Odykirk totaled a .246 hitting percentage during the 2019 season and also added 39 blocks, which was second best on the Lakers. Grulke, who also appeared in all 27 matches for the Lakers as a sophomore, posted a team-leading 679 assists which ranked 10th among all GLIAC players last season.
The Lakers will also look for contributions from this year's sophomore class of outside hitter Kaitlyn Bishop, outside hitter Taylor Fleming, libero Sydney Briney, outside hitter Malia Howe, middle hitter Nina White, defensive specialist Katja Wilhelms, defensive specialist Kayla Wilhelms and setter Emily Kalinowski. Briney, who was the only freshman to play in all 27 matches last season, ranks first among all returning Lakers in digs last season with 209.
Both LSSU freshmen made their collegiate debuts last weekend at Tech. Emily Hagelthorn, a libero/defensive specialist from South Lyon, Mich. played in both matches while Emilee McDaniel, a middle blocker from Manistique, Mich. played in one set in Saturday's contest.
Scouting the Bulldogs
The Ferris State Bulldogs ranked second in the GLIAC North Division Preseason Poll with 52 points, and finished the 2019 season with a 25-6 overall record.
The Bulldogs are led by head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, who is in her 25th season guiding Ferris State. Last season, Ferris State made its ninth consecutive and 24th all-time NCAA Division II Tournament appearance. In addition, the Bulldogs are the six-time defending GLIAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions.
Ferris State will be led by senior Katie O'Connell, who in the first weekend of GLIAC competition was named GLIAC North Division Player of the Week. The outside hitter received All-American honors as a junior last season. Last weekend against Northern Michigan, O'Connell recorded 30 kills, 46 digs, nine blocks, and three service aces in the two-game series. O'Connell was named First Team All-GLIAC in 2019.
Including O'Connell, seven letterwinners will return this spring for the Bulldogs. Other key returners for Ferris this season are middle hitters Samantha Hermann and Kira Merkle as well as libero Nina Gorgijevska.
Follow the Lakers
Due to State of Michigan, GLIAC and Lake Superior State University mandates, fans are not currently permitted to attend any Laker sporting events. Even though spectators cannot currently attend Laker home games, there are still a number of ways that fans will be able to follow the game action. All Laker home games during the 2021 season will be available to watch live on Stretch TV. For more information or to sign up for a subscription, visit https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lssu/. Fans can also access live stats on lssulakers.com
For more information, visit lssulakers.com
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