GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport University began its annual Panthers Invitational Friday afternoon. The two-day, 12-team event began for the Panthers with a matchup with Grace College. The Panthers secured leads in every set, but Grace was able to battle back to overcome the DU lead and the teams went to five sets. The Panthers persevered as Grace overcame DU leads to a take a 2-1 lead in the match. Molly Lameyer sparked the Panther comeback as she led the DU attack with 19 kills on a .372 hitting percentage. Sydney Tracer added to the attack with 43 assists while also contributing 10 digs. Sidney Rodriguez led the DU defense with 17 digs and Jessica Marvin totaled six blocks.

The Panthers broke a 3-to-3 tie to take seven straight points in set five as they earned their 3-2 victory over Grace. DU held Grace to a .069 hitting percentage while the Panthers hit .193 as a team.

The second match of the day placed the Panthers against No. 6 Rocky Mountain College. The Battlin' Bears controlled the first two sets before DU fought back to force a fourth game. Rocky Mountain managed to take control of the final set following an early 5-to-1 advantage as they took down the Panthers 3-1 following a 25-14 decision. Marcey DeHaan led the attack with 10 kills while Tracer recorded 36 assists. Emma Matthew led the defense with 22 kills and Ashley VanderHorst contributed five blocks.

The Panthers finished the day with a split and now stand a 14-13 overall in 2015. DU completes its play in the Panther Invitational tomorrow (10/10) with matchups against No. 25 Carroll College and No. 24 Indiana Wesleyan.