The Lakers volleyball team played host to the Edison State Chargers today and fell 3-0 (14-25, 16-25, 9-25) to the Chargers. The Lakers were coming off about a 2-week layoff due to cancellations and postponements and so had difficulty gaining and maintaining momentum. In game 1, the Lakers pulled to within one point on a Jordan Morman serve that was not returnable. Erica Merth then killed the next play to knot the score at 7. The Lakers then fell into a rotation that they were unable to get out of as the Chargers took advantage of Lakeland's unforced errors and difficulties with the serve. Game 2 had a different flavor as neither team was able to go on a signifcant run. In this match, Edison State, would take the lead by a couple of points before the Lakers would answer with a point or two of their own. The teams remained close as Edison State led 17-14 before the Lakers committed a communication error to expand the Chargers lead. The Chargers took advantage of numerous tips to take control and seal the game. In game 3, the Lakers came out fired up to begin play. Erica Merth and Arion Brown had a combo block which was followed by another Merth block to give the Lakers an early 3-0 lead. The Chargers would then go on a mini run to take the lead at 4-3. In that run, Kaitlynn Minarik made an outstanding dig as she laid out and pancaked a ball to keep the play alive. Merth would kill the next play to tie the score at 4. On the next play, Lindsey Fergus would make a nice pass to Astianna Coppes who fooled the Chargers with a nice push over the net - instead of a set. The Lakers were then called for a double hit to tie the score at 5. On the next play, Coppes set to Minarik who quickly put the ball away and gave the Lakers a 6-5 lead. The Chargers then went on a run as the Lakers committed several unforced errors. Trailing 15-6, Jordan Morman and Avrie Shenkel had a combo block to make the score 15-7. The Chargers continued to hit their tips though and were able to close out the win.

Erica Merth finished with 5 kills and 4 blocks while Arion Brown had 3 kills, 2 blocks, and 9 digs. Kaitlynn Minarik recorded 4 kills and 8 digs for the Lakers.

Watts' Word: "We had a lot of unforced errors - that really was the difference in the match. We have to put his behind us quickly as we have another tough test tomorrow. I'm looking for our team leaders to really step up here - we are very capable and we'll keep working to improve. New day tomorrow so we'll come out ready to play. Erica and Ari had nice games today. Everyone worked hard - just too many unforced errors."  

Next Up: The Lakers will play host to the Clark State Eagles tomorrow (9/30) in Laker Gym. Game time is scheduled for 11:00 am.