DEARBORN, Mich. -- The Lawrence Technological (Mich.) University women's volleyball split the final day of the UM-Dearborn Early Bird Challenge, taking the first match of the day 3-0 over Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) University 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-23) and dropping their final match 3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-23).

Lawrence Tech (3-1) opened the day breezing past the Cougars in straight sets as they hit .319 percent on the attack and held Mount Vernon Nazarene to a .183 hitting percentage. The Blue Devils finished the match with 54 kills compared to 32 from Mount Vernon Nazarene.

In the opening set, Lawrence Tech and the Cougars played a tight set with the Blue Devils scoring the final four points of te set to take it 25-21. Set two played out the same as Lawrence Tech closed the game out with five straight points for another 25-21 set win. In the final set, Lawrence Tech fell behind 15-11, but mounted a comeback to tie the match at 16-16 and took the lead for good at 24-23 with Dacey Cook (SR/Potterville, Mich.) taking the final kill for the win.

Cook finished with a program record .923 hitting percentage as she recorded 12 kills on 13 attempts. Zakia Hunt (JR/Livonia, Mich.) finished with a .357 hitting percentage as she earned kills on 15 of her 28 attack attempts. Varvara Gromakova (JR/Moscow, Russia) hit .350 for nine kills. Kristi Doherty (JR/Davison, Mich.) recorded 27 assists and 12 digs with three service aces.

In the final match of the day, Lawrence Tech took the first set 25-18, but Spring Arbor battled to take the next three sets to give LTU their first loss of the season. Lawrence Tech had a chance to extend the match to a fifth set as they were tied at 23-23, but the Cougars were able to finish the the match with two straight kills for the win.

Hunt finished the match with a .456 hitting percentage on 11 kills while Gromakova added a team hihg 14 kills and had a .257 hitting percentage. Doherty added 18 assists. While Lexi Szymoniak (SR/Onaway, Mich.) had 25 digs.

Lawrence Tech is back in action on Friday, August 31 when they travel to the heartland to participate in the 2018 Labor Day Classic hosted by Bellevue (Neb.) University.

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