SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- The Lawrence Technological (Mich.) University women's volleyball team defeated Cornerstone (Mich.) University 3-0 (25-21, 28-26, 25-18) on Saturday afternoon in the Don Ridler Field House. It was the program's first win over Cornerstone in program history.
Lawrence Tech (17-10, 10-5) opened the first set with a 7-2 lead as Reinali Calisin (FR/Edmonton, Alberta) and Alysha Vipushan (FR/Tecumseh, Ontario) served the Blue Devils into the early lead. Lawrence Tech extended the lead to 18-11 before Cornerstone battled back to within two points at 18-16. Brittany Schmidt (SR/Richmond, MI) closed the first set with a kill to give LTU a 25-21 win.
Cornerstone (22-9, 11-5) jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but Lawrence Tech held it together and tied it at 14-14 as Schmidt hit three kills in a row. Vipushan followed with an ace and Zakia Hunt (JR/Livonia, Mich.) and Schmidt put LTU up 17-14. The Golden Eagles tied the set at 17-17 and took a 19-17 lead after a kill from Bailey Cummings. The Blue Devils battled back to tie it at 24-24 and Schmidt closed this set as well with a pair of kills for a 28-26 win.
Kristi Doherty (JR/Davison, Mich.) led the way in this game as she was all over the court defensively and offensively, setting the attackers with a team high 36 assists and 20 digs. She finished the match with eight kills and a .333 hitting percentage.
In the third set, it was all Lawrence Tech they jumped all over the Golden Eagles taking a 10-3 lead as Doherty, Hunt, and Schmidt all had kills during the run. Cornerstone made it a four point set at 12-8, but the Blue Devils didn't allow the Eagles back into the set as the Blue Devils went up 19-12. The Golden Eagles attempted a comeback, making it a four point game at 20-16, but LTU stifled their comeback with a block by Doherty and Cook followed by taking the final three points of the set for a 25-18 win.
Schmidt led the team in kills with 14 and finished the match with a .263 hitting percentage to go with 10 digs. Hunt recorded eight kills while Varvara Gromakova (JR/Moscow, Russia) had six kills and a .263 hitting percentage in the win.
Lawrence Tech is back on the court Wednesday, October 24 at Rochester (Mich.) College. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
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