KIRTLAND, Ohio – After dropping the second set, Lakeland Community College volleyball bounced right back to claim the final two to beat Cuyahoga Community College 3-1 by the score 25-17, 23-25, 25-22 and 25-17.

With the win, the Lakers improve to 9-12 overall and 6-3 in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference play. Lakeland currently sits in fourth place in the OCCAC standings at 6-3.

Cary Morin played a solid match with 15 kills, nine digs and eight blocks. Iesha Niciu earned 13 kills and 13 blocks. Caitlin Cipriano dished out 43 assists while Brittney O'Hara earned 35 digs.

The first set started out pretty equal until Lakeland went on a run with the serve of Morgan Smart. After an ace from Smart, the Lakers were able to grab a 19-14 lead. Lakeland maintained control of the first set from there and took a 24-17 lead after a kill from Morin and then a Cuyahoga mistake gave Lakeland a 25-17 first set victory. Cuyahoga fought back to claim the second set 25-23 to tie the match at 1-1.

Lakeland struggled at the beginning of the third set, trailing 12-9 early on. A kill from Lauryn Mitchell helped the Lakers force a 16-16 tie. The Lakers were able to gain a slight edge down the stretch and Smart delivered a kill to give Lakeland a 25-22 victory in the third and take a 2-1 lead.

The momentum carried over for Lakeland in the fourth set as Niciu delivered a block to take a 15-9 lead over Cuyahoga. Morin kept the momentum with Lakeland with a kill for a 21-15 lead. From there, the Lakers coasted and Krista Curtis delivered the match-winning kill for a 25-17 victory to seal the win.

Lakeland will next play a quad match at Community College of Beaver County. The Lakers will begin with Harford Community College on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 2:30 p.m. and then face the host Beaver County at 4 p.m.

For more information about Lakeland athletics, visit www.athletics.lakelandcc.edu.

About Lakeland Community College

Founded in 1967, Lakeland Community College was the first college in Ohio created by a vote of the people. True to our mission, Lakeland provides quality learning opportunities to meet the social and economic needs of the community.

Offering day, evening, weekend and online classes, the college serves more than 10,800 credit and 2,800 noncredit students (2016). For more information about the College, visit www.lakelandcc.edu.