After a late night last night, the Lakers traveled to St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, MI to play in a quad match. The Lakers defeated Henry Ford CC 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-22, and 25-21). Lakeland then dropped matches to Jackson CC (14-25, 15-25, 20-25) and host St. Clair County (13-25, 14-25, and 12-25). Againt Henry Ford, the Lakers came out strong. They were focused and worked well as a unit. The Lakers served well and their defensive strategy helped boost the Lakers to victory.  The player of the game for Lakeland was Erica Merth as she stepped up her level of play at critical moments in the game. The Lakers then faced the Jackson Jets. Lakeland initally had trouble breaking thru their defense and scoring. The Lakers made some adjustments and forced the Jets to use their timeouts as the Lakers gained momentum. Lakeland served extremely well, but couldn't put the other pieces together consitently and so fell in this match. Players of the match against Jackson were Allison Hendrick for her serving and Erica Merth for her all-around play. Jordan Morman is also recognized for her outstanding play. The Lakers final match of the day was against a very good St. Clair team. Fatigue had set in and the Lakers played without their starting setter. Against a good team like the Skippers, that was not a recipe for success and so the Lakers fell in the final. 

Against Henry Ford, Kaitlynn Minarik finished with 12 kills, 14 digs, 2 aces, and 2 blocks. Astianna Coppes finished with 7 kills, 19 assists, and 11 digs while Erica Merth recorded 6 kills, 4 aces, and 4 blocks. Jordan Morman picked up 3 kills, 12 digs, 6 blocks, and an ace while Arion Brown added 5 kills with a block and an ace. Against Jackson, Lindsey Fergus had 12 serve receptions, 4 digs, and 1 kill while Minarik added 4 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces, and a block. Erica Merth picked up 4 kills, 4 digs, and 2 blocks while Coppes finished with 11 assists, 7 digs, 2 kills, and a block.  Against St. Clair, Allison Hendrick finished with 9 assists and a kill while Avrie Shenkel had 3 kills and an ace.

Watt's Word: "I'm pleased with the effort of our team today. After playing last night and then a long bus ride today, the team really competed. We showed that we can serve in critical situations when needed and that we can battle and match up with most teams. A long day - but overall, a good day for the Lakers. We'll build on today and look to come out strong against a good Commodore team next week."

Next Up: The Lakers play host to Lorain County Community College on Wednesday (10/11) at 6:00 pm in Laker Gym.