The Lakers volleyball team kicked off their season by traveling to Butler County Community College today and earned a split. The Lakers defeated the Erie Kats 3-1 (25-13, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18) before dropping a hard fought match to the hosts by a score of 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 13-25, 27-29). Against Erie, the Lakers carried much of the play and were in control throughout. The Lakers were led offensively by Avrie Shenkel (13 kills) and Taylor Williams-Stevens (10 kills and 2 blocks). Samantha Winter had a strong match picking up 27 assists and 3 aces while Zoe Babnik had a strong defensive game with 9 digs. Sydney Park played a well rounded game with 3 kills and 5 digs while both Abby Karasek and Allison Hedrick finished with 3 kills. Alyssa Lino recorded 5 aces in the Lakers win.

The player of the game against Erie was setter, Samantha Winter. Coach Watts commented, "Sam had an amazing game. She ran our offense with control and ease. She was also able to take advantage of potential overpasses and was able to convert them into kills."

In game 2, the Lakers continued their strong play and took game 1 with good serving and strong defensive play. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Butler rebounded by taking the next 3 games. The 4th game, a 27-29 thriller, saw the Lakers hold a 19-11 lead before dropping the game. Coach Watts commented, "We had control, but then Butler came out of a timeout and got on a roll - we were just unable to overcome that today." Game 2 stat leaders saw Sydney Park pick up 10 kills and 3 digs. Avrie Shenkel added 6 kills while Taylor Williams-Stevens added 5 kills and 3 aces. Defensively Estella Dotson had 19 digs while Zoe Babnik finished with 12 more digs. Samantha Winter had another strong match finishing with 2 kills, 25 assists, and 6 digs. Abby Karasek finished the match with 5 kills while Allison Hedrick had 3 kills and Rebecca Ferrell picked up 5 digs.

The player of the game against Butler was Taylor Williams-Stevens. Coach Watts commented, "Taylor came up big for us with both her kills and blocks. She often was able to make the plays to get us the ball back and get the momentum back on our side. She had a strong game today."

Watt's Word: "It was our first day of competition and we were able to go on the road and compete well. This was a good start to our season and I'm excited about the upcoming year as I think we'll be very competitive. Our defense was impeccable today and our serving improved as the day went on. We will get back into the gym and keep working to get ready for our next match."

Next Up: The Lakers will continue on the road as they travel to Jamestown to face the Jayhawks in a 6:00 pm match on Tuesday (8/27).