Lakers split during second day at FSU Tourney
BIG RAPIDS - Lake Superior State closed out the second day of competition at the Ferris State Volleyball Invitational with a 3-0 victory over Urbana.
LSSU (1-3) swept Urbana, 25-10, 25-17, 25-21, Saturday and won five of eight sets on the day. Brittany Newberry and Nikki Stratelak led the Lakers with eight kills each, followed by Janelle Balkwill, Chloe Balanda and Billie McLeod with five each. Setters Marylou Drobish and Balkwill totaled 20 and 11 assists, respectively. Newberry also had 10 digs and seven service aces. Katie Fitzpatrick added 10 digs.
LSSU opened the day with a tightly-contested five-set loss to Drury of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Newberry kept Drury off-balance with a potent back-row attack and finished with 19 kills and a .324 attack percentage as the Lakers lost, 22-25, 27-25, 25-14, 19-25, 15-12.
Jeanna Radzinski added 11 kills, and Balanda and McLeod had eight each. Balkwill finished with 25 assists, and Drobish had 23. McLeod and Balkwill combined to total seven block assists. Fitzpatrick led in digs with 16, followed by Newberry with 14 and Drobish with 11.
For the tournament, Newberry led the Lakers with 41 kills, a .204 attack percentage and 12 aces. Stratelak added 30 kills and had a .200 attack rate.
The Lakers play their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference home opener at 7 p.m. Friday against Tiffin.
