DETROIT -- The 2023 season came to a close for the Wayne State University volleyball team (10-19 overall, 5-13 GLIAC) on Saturday. The Warriors needed a win or Lake Superior State loss, but WSU fell to Davenport (12-17 overall, 8-10 GLIAC) and the Lakers won in five sets against Michigan Tech.
HOW IT HAPPENED (-18, 14-25, -17, 23-25, 12-15)
- Wayne State couldn't have asked for a better start as it hit .292 to Davenport's -.077 in the opening set.
- The Warriors were ahead by as many as seven in that period, including 22-15, 24-17 and 25-18.
- The second stanza was the Panthers best offensively at .342.
- WSU bounced back nicely in the third, though, thanks in part to a 9-2 run midway through that increased the lead to nine, 20-11.
- The home team also registered its best offensive effort of the match in that set at .355.
- Wayne State was in front by four, 13-9, in the fourth before Davenport scored eight of the next 11 points to lead by one, 17-16.
- Following three more deadlocks, the Panthers put the pressure on with a 4-1 run to hold a three-point advantage, 23-20.
- The Warriors battled back to a final tie at 23-23 before back-to-back scores for DU.
- The fifth and deciding set saw a combined seven ties and two lead changes.
- Momentum switched a bit when Wayne State was ahead by one, 4-3, and Davenport responded with five in a row to lead by four, 8-4.
- Aside from three deadlocks after that, the Warriors were never able to regain the upper hand.
LEADING THE WARRIORS
- Miller racked up at least 20 kills for the third time this season.
- Dulgar tallied her 11th double-double of the fall and reached at least 40 assists for the 13th match.
- Giroux finishes her campaign with a .354 hitting percentage, which ties the best mark in program history.
- Her clip of .355 surpasses the previous top-ranked .354 by Olivia Fike in 2019.
- Smith reached double-figures for kills for fifth time as a rookie.
ONE BIG THING
- Wayne State out-hit Davenport .216 to .173, but tallied 18 service errors to the Panthers' nine.
