SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State volleyball program (5-23, 4-13 GLIAC) fell to the Davenport Panthers (22-7, 13-4 GLIAC) by a final score of 3-0 on Friday, but with a Wisconsin-Parkside loss to Michigan Tech later that evening, the Lakers have secured a spot in the GLIAC tournament for the first time since the 1990s with the exception of the shortened COVID-19 season in which all teams received a bid regardless of the standings.
The Panthers would open the match with a slim lead, but kills from Mariana Velasque (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Taylor Fleming (Rogers City, Mich.) gave the Lakers the advantage. Both teams would continue to battle on their way to a 16-16 tie before a pair of kills from Valeriya Varnakova (Ufa, Russia) put Lake State up by three, but the Panthers answered with a 6-1 run to take a 22-20 lead. Both teams would then dig in, extending the set over and over again with each team having multiple set points. However, after a Maggie Morris (Schoolcraft, Mich.) kill tied the score at 30-30, Davenport would finally end it at 32-30.
The Lakers would take a slim 5-4 lead in the second set after a kill from Velasque, but an 8-1 Panther run would put Davenport up by six points. However, the Lakers would keep fighting back. They chipped away at the lead with runs of 4-1 and 4-0 behind multiple kills from Velasque and Fleming to tie the score at 17-17, but despite tying the score multiple times, they could not take the lead as the Panthers eventually claimed the set by a score of 25-21.
The Lakers struck early in the third set with a 5-1 run to take a three-point lead, but the Panthers were able to pull ahead with runs of 6-0 and 5-0. The Lakers were able to battle back to within four, but it would not be enough as Davenport would take the set and the match by respective scores of 25-16 and 3-0.
Fleming and Velasque led the way offensively with each earning 12 kills. Meanwhile, Emily Kalinowski (South Lyon, Mich.) led all players with 32 assists.
The Lakers return to action for their final match of the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 5 with the first serve scheduled for 3 p.m.