BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - The Lake Superior State volleyball program (5-25, 4-15 GLIAC) saw their season come to an end at the hands of the top-seeded Ferris State Bulldogs (22-9, 17-2 GLIAC) in the opening round of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Volleyball Tournament on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs came out strong on their way to an early 7-3 lead, but the Lakers responded with a 5-0 run to take the lead. Both teams would then battle for several points, but multiple kills from Emily Kalinowski (South Lyon, Mich.) and Mariana Velasque (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) kept the opening set within one. However, the Bulldogs pushed ahead, and despite a late rally from the Lakers that featured a kill from Taylor Fleming (Rogers City, Mich.), Ferris State would go on to claim the first set by a score of 25-20.

Both teams would go back and forth early in the second set with back-to-back kills from Valeriya Varnakova (Ufa, Russia) giving the Lakers a 7-6 advantage. Neither team would give each other an edge for a majority of the set with a kill from Fleming putting her team up 17-16, but the Bulldogs would respond by going on an 8-1 run to pull ahead and take the second set by a score of 25-19.

The Lakers came out of the gate swinging to open the third set with a 5-0 run to take an early 7-2 lead, and they would lead by as many as six points behind more kills from Fleming and a Maggie Morris (Schoolcraft, Mich.) service ace. However, Ferris State went on to show why they were crowned the GLIAC regular season champions, utilizing a 14-1 run to seize the momentum and pull out in front. The Lakers rallied with multiple kills from Velasque, but it would not be enough as Ferris State claimed the set and the match by respective scores of 25-18 and 3-0, ending the Lakers' season. 

Despite the loss, Kalinowski would lead all players in assists with 30, finishing the season with 993, the sixth most assists in a season in program history and the most since 2005.