GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers returned to their home gym for the first time since September 29 and had a great crowd supporting them. The total attendance number hit 421 for the Panthers second to last regular season home match. Davenport and Wayne State needed five sets to determine a winner, with the Warriors winning the final set to earn the victory. The Panthers currently sit 6-6 in conference play and sit in third place in the GLIAC South Division standings.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Final Score: Davenport 2, Wayne State 3
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Records: Davenport 12-12 (6-6), Wayne State 12-11 (7-5)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET SCORES: 25-22, 23-25, 18-25, 25-20, 11-15

Davenport dominated the opening set of play, despite letting the Warriors back into it late. The Panthers were on fire in the first set, building up a 17-6 lead after a kill by Jenn Kay Vander Meer, assisted by Sami White. The Panther maintained the lead and went up 22-11 after another kill by Vander Meer. Following the kill, the Warriors went on a streak of their own, scoring nine of the next 10 points to cut the Panthers lead down to three. Davenport got lucky down the stretch as their final two points to earn the set win came from an attack error and a service error by the Warriors.
 
Wayne State flipped the script and won sets two and three to put pressure on the Panthers. Davenport made a run late in the second set and almost completed a valiant comeback. The Panthers trailed 24-20 and Davenport got kills by Megan Herr and Vander Meer to cut the lead down to two. After the two kills, Kasey Stehouwer recorded a service ace to put some major pressure on the Warriors. Wayne State lucked out as Stehouwer had a service error and the set scored was tied 1-1. The Warriors had control of the third set from start to finish, winning 25-18. Davenport tried to make a run late again, but a timeout by Wayne State stopped the Panthers momentum and the Warriors finished the set scoring three straight.
 
Davenport needed to win the fourth set in order to force a fifth, the Panthers came through with the clutch win. Not only did Davenport win the set, they had the upper hand throughout. Davenport went up 23-14 after back-to-back errors by Wayne State. The Warriors made a run late in the set, scoring six unanswered to cut the Panthers down to only three points.
 
A four-point run in the fifth set was the deciding moment in the match. With the set tied 8-8, the Warriors rallied off four straight points to take a 12-8 leading, forcing Davenport to take a timeout. The Warriors then scored three of the last four points to take a 15-11 set win and earned a 3-2 match win.

STAT LEADERS
Kills-Vander Meer (21)
Aces-Vander Meer (3)
Blocks-Jessica Marvin (8)
Assists-Sydney Tracer (29)
Digs-Stehouwer (20)
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Vander Meer: 21 kills and 18 digs

UP NEXT
Davenport hosts Ashland for their final regular-season home match on Saturday, October 20. The match is also senior day!

Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Emily Baustert