The Lakeland volleyball team played host to the Kent State Tuscarawas Golden Eagles tonight and fell in a hard fought 3-2 match. It was a quick turn-around for the Lakers as they played on back-to-back nights. The scores were 21-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-23, and 4-15. In all 5 matches the Lakers were down early. Game 2 featured an outstanding comeback as they trailed 10-2 at one point. Lakeland battled all the way back and finally took the lead at 25-24 when Maisie Burlison had a huge block at the net to earn a point. After a sideout by KST to tie it, setter Tatianna Matuz pushed a ball over the net to surprise the Golden Eagles and take the lead. The game was iced on the very next play as Kaitlynn Minarik spiked the game winner on a set from Matuz. The Lakers started slowly again in game 3 and were trailing 7-12 before they got started. Lakeland then went on a roll and took a commanding 20-13 lead. Key plays in the run were blocks for points by Erica Merth and as well as kills from Madison Tatka. Outstanding digs and passes from Tory Leck also played a big part in the win.  KST would rally to make it a close game at 22-20 before the Lakers called a timeout. After the break, Lakeland closed it out on a kill from Burlison and an unreturnable back row hit from Merth. Lakeland again started slowly in game 4 trailing 11-4 to start. Again, they would battle back and eventually tie it at 20. During this game, there were several long rallys as both teams fought for the win. Every player made significant plays throughout this battle whether it be with quick digs, good passing, tremendous sets and kills, or with strong blocks at the net. Unfortunately for the Lakers, they were not able to push through the wall tonight and eventually fell in the tightly played game. Game 5 followed the same pattern with the Lakers falling behind early, only this time, they were not able to make a final run.

Miozzi Mentions: "The ladies worked hard tonight. It wasn't the outcome we wanted, but they battled hard all night. We had some difficulty with our serve receive and that took us out of our offensive flow at times. A good non-conference game - one that we will learn from. We'll get back at it tomorrow and try to clean some things up and get ready for the weekend."

Next Up: The Lakers will travel to Erie Community College on Saturday to participate in a tri-match. Lakeland will play Butler County Community College at 1:00pm before facing the hometown Erie CC Kats at 3:00pm.