The Lakers volleyball team traveled to Toledo, Ohio on Friday to take on both Schoolcraft College and Erie Community College at Owens Community College. Lakeland dropped the first match 3-0 to the Schoolcraft Ocelots (19-25, 10-25, and 20-25). This match was controlled by the Ocelots as they were able to take advantage of their size at the net and a number of errors by the Lakers. Erica Merth led the way with 8 kills and 2 blocks while Kaitlynn Minarik recorded 3 kills, 6 aces, and 4 digs. Madison Tatka recorded 4 kills, 3 digs, and a solo block. Tatianna Matuz finished the match with 9 assists. Coach Miozzi commented,"Erica and Tati really played well. We were unable to match up well with their bigs at the net. For us to be competitive, we need to improve on our ball control and defense."

The Lakers fell to the Erie Kats in the nightcap, the second time in a week, both by 3-2 scores. In both matches, the Lakers held 2-1 leads, but were unable to garner the decisive 3rd game win. Lakeland has actually lost 4 of their 5 matches this year in 5 games. Miozzi continues, "We played hard as a team, again, we just made too many errors. We had our chances - we need to regroup quickly, learn from this, but also move on as we have another two matches tomorrow." Maisie Burlison had a strong game against the Kats as she recorded 10 kills and 8 blocks. Erica Merth continued her dominant play as she picked up 15 kills and 3 blocks. Tatianna Matuz led the team with 21 assists while Lindsey Fergus added 5 aces. 

Next Up: The Lakers stay in Toledo to face the Mott Communnity College Bears at 10:00 am and then the Kellogg Community College Bruins at 1:00 pm.