SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State University volleyball team (2-16, 1-9 GLIAC) picked up their first conference win Saturday over Wisconsin Parkside (7-12, 2-9 GLIAC) by a final score of 3-0.

The Lakers and Rangers exchanged points to open the contest before the Lakers went on a 3-0 run with back-to-back kills coming from Mariana Velasque (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), giving her team an early 7-3 lead. The Rangers would then call a timeout and have a brief exchange of points, but the Lakers would go on a 4-0 run with two more kills, this time coming from Nina White (Chelsea, Mich.). Velasque would also earn two kills of her own, giving the Lakers a 13-5 lead over the Rangers. The Rangers would then call their final timeout of the set, and both teams would then go back and forth with each other with Taylor Fleming (Roger City, Mich.) and Maggie Morris (Schoolcraft, Mich.) both earning multiple kills in the process before the Lakers ultimately took the first set 25-16.

In the second set, both teams would go on another back and forth exchange with the Lakers eventually pulling ahead with a 6-1 run that featured another pair of kills from Velasque, giving them a 9-4 lead. The Rangers would then go on a 3-1 run to rally back to an 11-8 deficit. There would then be a short exchange of points between both teams, but the Lakers would eventually rally to go on a 3-1 run that forced a Ranger timeout with the score being 17-12 in favor of the Lakers. Velasque, Fleming, Morris, White and Sydney Briney (St. Joseph, Mich.) would all earn kills in long back to back exchanges between the Rangers that led to the Rangers taking another timeout with the Lakers leading 24-19, and after Parkside fended off a few set points the Lakers would secure the point the needed to claim the second set by the score of 25-20 on a kill by Velasque.

The Rangers would go on a 5-1 run to open up the third set that was eventually ended by a kill from Emily Kalinowski (South Lyon, Mich.), but the Lakers would go on a run of their own with White earning back-to-back kills and Morris picking up a service ace. The Lakers would then take the lead following a kill from Velasque and a service ace from Briney. The Lakers then began to pull ahead with another 3-0 run. The Rangers were able to bring the game back to within one, but after a timeout to talk things over, the Lakers utilized a 3-1 run with kills by Kalinowski and Morris and a service ace from Emily Hagelthorn (South Lyon, Mich.) to push back ahead. Both teams would battle as the set winded down, but the Lakers would ultimately hold on to take the set by a score of 25-19 and the match 3-0 to earn their first conference victory of the 2022-23 season..

Velasque led the way offensively with a total of 16 kills followed by White with 10. Kalinowski had another impressive outing from the setter position with 41 assists, and Briney and Ally Lasley (Birch Run, Mich.) each totalled 11 digs on the defensive end. 

The Lakers will be back in action, at home, on Sunday, Oct. 9 to take on the Grand Valley State Lakers with the first serve scheduled at 3 p.m.