ALLENDALE, Mich. — Davenport took the opening set from No. 16 Grand Valley State on Friday at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena, but the Lakers rallied to win 3-1. The Panthers claimed the first set 25-20 before falling 25-18, 25-20 and 25-19.
The Panthers erased a five-point deficit in the opening set, then put together a seven-point run to take control. Trailing 15-10, Davenport drew within one behind kills from
Savanah Weathers and
Karley Pretzer, a
Keira Dommer service ace and a GVSU attack error. The Lakers briefly pushed their lead back to 16-14, but consecutive kills from
Mariya Montgomery sparked Davenport's decisive run.
Jaide Wirth followed with a kill to put the Panthers ahead 17-16, and
Julia Frederick added an ace as Davenport extended its lead to 21-16. Weathers supplied the Panthers' final two points with kills to close out the set.
GVSU responded in the second set, turning an 8-7 advantage into a 13-7 lead. Davenport had kept pace early with a
Hayley Carr ace, two
Amelia Werner kills and a pair of blocks involving
Abby Alan and Werner. The Panthers later cut a seven-point deficit to four with two Weathers kills and a Werner ace, but the Lakers scored the final three points to take the set 25-18.
The third set stayed close deep into the frame. DU moved ahead 8-7 on a Werner kill and continued to answer GVSU's pushes with contributions from Montgomery, Alan and Weathers. A Dommer ace helped the Panthers pull even at 16-16, and Werner tied it again at 17-17 with a kill. The Lakers answered with four straight points to create the separation they needed and took the set 25-20.
Davenport made two runs in the fourth. After falling behind 7-4, the Panthers used an Alan ace, a Montgomery block and back-to-back Weathers kills to move in front 9-7. Later, trailing 16-13, Davenport rallied again behind an Alan kill, two Werner aces and a
Livi Overbeek kill to take a 17-16 lead. Grand Valley State responded with six consecutive points and went on to finish the match with a 25-19 set win.
Weathers led the Panthers with 15 kills while hitting .379. Werner finished with nine kills and four service aces, while Carr recorded 19 digs and nine assists. Montgomery added six blocks, including two solo blocks, and four kills. Davenport hit .149 for the match, compared with .273 for GVSU.
Up Next
Davenport returns home Saturday, Sept. 26, to face Purdue Northwest at 3 p.m. in the Student Center.
