The Lakeland volleyball team played host to the NJCAA's DIII 3rd ranked Owens Express today in Laker gym and dropped a hard fought 3-1 decison. The scores of the games were 17-25, 15-25, 25-21, 15-25). Lakeland played outstanding defense throughout the entire match both in the back row and at the net as they forced long rallies to extend the Express. In game 1, Lakeland trailed 12-17 and battled back. A block by Alyssa Lino brought the Lakers within 13-17. The Lakers then made several outstanding defensive plays before the Express faltered and hit it wide. Estella Dotson then had back to back kills and suddenly the score was 16-17. After a long Laker serve, Lakeland rebounded on a Sydney Park kill to make the score 17-18. Unfortunately, that's as close as Lakeland would get as the Express regrouped and took advantage of a couple of Lakeland miscues to take game 1. In game 2, the Express controlled the net play and took advantage of some Laker unforced errors to take an early lead. For the rest of the game, whenever it looked Lakeland was going to get started and go on a run, the Express would make a nice defensive play and later score to roll to the game 2 win.  

The Lakers would not quit. Trailing 3-8 to start the game, Avrie Shenkel hit a kill shot to trim the deficit. The Lakers would then defend a couple of kill attempts by the Express before Owens faltered and hit it into the net. Samantha Winter would follow with a strong block and point. Shenkel then collect another kill before Allison Hedrick would serve an ace to knot the score at 8. After the Express went ahead 8-10, Taylor Williams-Stevens crushed a ball to bring the Lakers within 1 point. Avrie Shenkel would follow with a tip for a point and the teams were tied again at 10. After the Express earned a side out, Samantha Winter would push a ball instead of set it for a Laker point. Sydney Park followed with a kill before a Rebecca Ferrell ace and the Lakers led 13-11. The Lakers then made consecutive errors allowing Owens to tie it at 13 before Park followed with back-to-back kills to give the Lakers a 15-13 lead. After an extensive rally where both teams played fantistic defense, the Lakers would make an error to trim their lead to 15-14. Abby Karasek would then step up and hit a big kill to regain the 2 point Laker lead at 16-14. The Lakers then committed an unforced error before Park and Shenkel each hit a kill for an 18-15 Laker lead. After a sideout by the Express, Taylor Williams-Stevens and Abby Karasek partnered for a combo block and point and a 19-16 Laker lead. Owens would call a timeout and score on a tip to trim the deficit to 19-17. On the next play, Williams-Stevens defended the net on 3 straight plays before the Express faltered and gave the Lakers the point. The Express would then go on a mini-run powered by a block, kill, and unforced Laker error to take a 21-20 lead. The Lakers would immediately answer as Alyssa Lino had a block for a point to tie the score at 21. On the next rally, Lakeland would again play outstanding defense as they extended play several times. Eventually the Express would committ an error and the Lakers led 22-21. Sydney Park followed with a kill before Rebecca Ferrell served out 2 aces for the Lakers victory.

In game 4, the Lakers made some unforced errors early on and fell into a quick 6-12 hole. Again, they would try to battle back, but unfortunately, were not able to string plays and points together. Lakeland continued to play excellent defense as plays and rallies were extended, but could not make the final push as they dropped game 4.

Stats were not available at the time of this release.

Players of the Game: Zoe Babnik, Rebecca Ferrell, and Estella Dotson

Watts' Word: "It was an exciting match overall and we were pleased to take a set from Owens as that's the first time Lakeland has done that in several years. Give credit to Owens as they are  good team. I'm really excited about our team - we are improving and growing. I was pleased to see us rise up when we were down and in the 3rd game we grew as we played to win (as oppossed to play not to lose). If we continue to work hard and improve, we could really make a nice run. We have a short turnaround and so tomorrow we'll really need to bring some energy."

Next Up: The Lakers have a quick turnaround as they travel to Kent State Tuscarawas tomorrow to face the Golden Eagles in an 11am match. The Lakers will then stay at Kent and play the Cincinnati-Clermont Cougars at 1:00 pm.