In OCCAC action, the Lakeland volleyball team played host to Clark State today and dropped a hard-fought 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-20, 13-15) decision to the Eagles. The match was a classic back-and-forth affair as both teams were very evenly matched. Game 1 set the tone as both teams traded points throughout the match with neither gaining control. The Eagles were able to pull it out in the end. In game 2, the Lakers took an early 8-4 lead and then maintained the lead the entire game. As Clark State tried to make a run trailing 12-9, Abby Karasek struck a nice kill to thwart the Eagle's efforts. The two teams would continue to exchange points when Sydney Park hit a hard kill to put the Lakers up 18-14. The Eagles would try to come back again and only trailed 19-17 after they served a ball that hit the top of the net and fell in. On the ensuing play, Park once again came up big as she tipped a ball that could not be returned giving the Lakers a 20-17 lead. The two teams would continue to trade points until Taylor Williams-Stevens ended the game with a rocket for a kill and the game.

In game 3, the teams would again trade points early before the Eagles took advantage of unforced errors and a net call to take a 19-14 lead.  The teams continued to trade points until Park pushed a ball for a point to bring the Lakers within 3 points, 20-23. Lakeland would then hit kill shots just wide and then just long to drop the game. In game 4, Clark State jumped out to an early 8-4 lead. Sydney Park would make it 8-5 with a kill. The Lakers would then play outstanding defense and force a long rally until the Eagles committed an error. Alyssa Lino then would tip a ball for a point before another Park kill. Zoe Babnik would then serve an ace and suddenly the game was tied at 9.  Lakeland would expand its lead to 16-11 on Eagle misplays before the Lakers also committed some errors to bring the Eagles within 1 at 16-15. Avrie Shenkel would then hit a kill before the Eagles answered back to make the score 17-16. On the next play, Park hit a ball that could not be returned before Abby Karasek surprised the Eagles with a strike on the second hit and suddenly the Lakers had a 19-16 lead. From there, the Lakers closed it out on the backs of another Karasek kill and the games final kill from Park.     

Game 5 saw the Eagles jump out to an 8-2 lead as they took advantage of some early Laker miscues. Lakeland would not quit though. On the next play, Clark State would hit the antanae for a Laker point. Estella Dotson would then serve an ace. After two unforced Laker errors, Abby Karasek would hit a kill to bring the Lakers witin 5, 10-5. The Eagles would then hit a ball into the net before an Abby Karasek kill. After the Lakers served wide, they trailed 7-11. Alyssa Lino would then tip a ball for a point. On th next play, the Lakers defended hard at the net forcing the Eagles to hit it wide. The Lakers would then return a shot wide before consecutive errors by the Eagles brought the Lakers within 1 at 11-12. On the next play Taylor Williams-Stevens had a huge block at the net for a Lakeland point and knotted the game at 12. During the next rally, the Lakers were called for touching the net as they were earning the point. The two teams then had another long rally before the Eagles scored and took a 14-12 lead. The two teams would again have another long rally and this time Williams-Stevens pushed a ball that was unreturnable making the score 14-13 in favor of the Eagles. Unfortunately for the Lakers, that's as close as they would get as the Eagles held on for the game.

The match was marked by several long rally's as both teams played hard. Lakeland played outstanding defense throughout the match, but in the end, they fell just short. Zoe Babnik led the Lakers with 13 digs while Estella Dotson finished with 4 digs. Sydney Park recorded 15 kills and 4 aces while Avrie Shenkel had 7 kills and a dig. Abby Karasek and Taylor Williams-Stevens each had 6 kills and and 2 block assists. Williams-Stevens also added 3 aces. Samantha Winter recorded 36 assists while Alyssa Lino finished with 4 kills and 2 block assists. Allison Hedrick picked up 2 aces and 2 digs while Rebecca Ferrell chipped in a couple of digs for the Lakers.

PPlayer of the Game: Sydney Park

Watts' Word: "That was a tough, hard-fought match. The two teams were very even and we played amazing defense. I was pleased how we came back in a couple of games - we faced a little adversity and continued to battle. It's been fun to watch the growth of this team. We will keep working to improve and get ready for the quick turnaround next week."  

Next Up: On Tuesday (9/10), the Lakers will travel to Cuyahoga Community College (Eastern Campus) to face off against the league rival Triceratops. The match is scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm.