The Lakeland volleyball played late into the night last night and were rewarded with the early game this morning. Unfortunately, the Lakers didn't respond well and would drop an early match to Mott Community College by a score of 3-0 (21-25, 19-25, 9-25). Lakeland would try to regroup and bounce back in the nightcap but were unable to match up with St. Clair County as the Lakers fell 3-0 (14-25, 13-25, 13-25) to the Skippers. In the first match, the Lakers and the Bears traded mini-spurts through the first two games. Both games were back and forth before the Bears pulled them out. Unfortunately, the Lakers faced a key injury and in rotating the positions for game 3, the Bears were able to take advantage. Coach Watts commented, "It was a difficult change we had to make and we were just not able to do it right away. We did get better as the day (and matches) wore on. It's a good opportunity for the next person to step up - which we did."

Against Mott, Alyssa Lino really stepped up as she had 8 kills in 11 attacks. Samantha Winter was also very strong as she added 13 assists and 4 digs. Estella Dotson recorded 8 digs, 2 aces, and a kill while Zoe Babnik had 9 digs in the match. Abby Karasek finished the morning with 7 digs while Avrie Shenkel picked up 4 kills. Rebecca Ferrell added 3 digs and an ace while Brianna Doolittle picked up both a kill and an ace in the Laker loss. 

Against St. Clair, the Lakers were never able to really put up any sustained pressure. As a tired club with some injuries, they were just unable to push through the Skippers. Abby Karasek led the way for the Lakers with 4 kills and 4 digs while Alyssa Lino continued to play well with 4 more kills and a dig. Estella Dotson picked up 4 more digs and 2 kills while Zoe Babnik recorded 6 more digs. Both Brianna Doolittle and Samantha Winter chipped in a kill, an ace, and 2 digs while Avrie Shenkel added 2 kills in the Lakers defeat.

Player of the Day: Alyssa Lino - Coach Watts commented, "Alyssa had a strong pair of games today as she was able to score for us in a big way. She really stepped up her play and I'm looking forward to watching her continue to grow and develop."

Watts' Word: "It was a tough day for us. We were displaced and exhausted. Many players had to play different positions and that shook us up a bit. Despite the adversity, we maintained high spirits and gave our best effort. All of the players gave good contributions at different times. We have a little break now so we plan to rest up a bit and then prepare for our next match on Thursday - couple of home matches coming up - so it will be nice to finally play in front of our home crowd."

Next Up: The Lakers play host to the Jamestown Jayhawks on Thursday, September 5, at 6:00 pm. Lakeland's first conference match will follow on Saturday (9/7) against the Clark State Eagles at 11:00 am.