BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - The Mercyhurst University women's volleyball team opened the 2015 season with a pair of losses during day one of competition at the Ferris State Invitational. The Lakers were blanked in the opener, 3-0, at the hands of McKendree University and then battled Wisconsin-Parkside to five games before dropping a 3-2 decision.

In the opening match, McKendree knocked off Mercyhurst by the scores of 25-20, 25-17, and 25-20.

In the first game, the Lakers trailed the Bearcats for a majority of the time before pulling even at 20-20. However, McKendree would score the final five points of the game to take the opener. Senior Erin Byrnes had four kills while junior Haley Adams had a kill and a pair of service aces in the opening game. In game two, Mercyhurst led by the scores of 7-4 and 10-7 before the Bearcats outscored the Lakers the rest of the way, 18-10. Senior Lexi Stefanov led the way in the middle game with four kills. Mercyhurst trailed from start to finish in the third game but did get six kills from junior Sarah Wegrzyn in the five-point loss.

All told, Byrnes led the Lakers with ten kills and ten digs and scored a team-high ten points. Wegrzyn chipped in with nine kills while Stefanov had five. Senior setter Kelly Vitt had 28 assists.

Arela Williams led the Bearcats with 12 kills and 12 digs.

In the nightcap, Mercyhurst and Wisconsin-Parkside played a thrilling five-game match before the Rangers came away with a 25-19, 12-25, 25-15, 20-25, 16-14 victory over the Lakers to drop Mercyhurst to 0-2 on the season. Wisconsin-Parkside improved to 2-0 with the win.

Mercyhurst trailed Wisconsin-Parkside, 15-14, midway through the opening game before the Rangers pulled away with an 8-1 run. The Lakers, however, dominated game two, earning a 25-12 victory to even the match. Mercyhurst hit at a .361 clip in the second game and got three kills apiece from Stefanov and junior Lauren Kenny. The Rangers took a two games to one lead with a ten-point victory in game three, taking advantage of nine hitting errors by the Lakers. But, Mercyhurst found its groove again in game four to force the decisive fifth game. Kenny and Wegrzyn had three kills apiece in game four.

In the fifth game, Mercyhurst appeared to have things well in hand, leading from start to finish and building up a 14-10 advantage. But, the Rangers pulled off the improbable and scored the final six points of the game to earn the win. Kenny, Stefanov, and junior Sarah Puckett had a pair of kills in the fifth game.

Kenny led the way in points with 13.5, posting nine kills, 11 digs, three aces, and three block assists. Puckett and Adams had 11.5 points apiece with Puckett posting a team-high ten kills. Adams had six kills, three aces, a solo block, and three block assists. Vitt had 40 assists while junior Samantha Giardina led the Lakers with 21 digs.

The Lakers will look to pick up their first win of the season on Saturday when they play two more matches at the Ferris State Invitational. Mercyhurst will play against Missouri Western State at 9:30 a.m. followed with a match against former GLIAC-rival Saginaw Valley State at 2:30 p.m.