The Lakeland volleyball team traveled to Grand Rapids today to play Carl Sandburg and the NJCAA's 15th ranked hosts, Grand Rapids. The Lakers traveled a bit short-handed and so were unable to keep pace as they fell to Carl Sandburg 3-0 (24-26, 20-25, 7-25) and then 3-0 to Grand Rapids (10-25, 15-25, 10-25). Against Carl Sandburg, it was a highly competitive match that was back and forth for the first 2 sets. Unfortunatly, the Lakers were unable to capitalize on their opportunities early and then were unable to continue their consistent play late. Against Grand Rapids, the Lakers faced a nationally ranked team that was clicking throughout. Lakeland took a set to gather themselves and played fairly well throughout set 2, but in the end, were unable to match the pace of the Raiders.

Against Carl Sandburg, Taylor Williams-Stevens led the Lakers with 13 kills, 3 aces, and 19 digs while Alyssa Lino had 6 kills for the Lakers. Isabella Schulz added 5 kills while Abby Karasek chipped in 3 kills. Samantha Winter finished with 2 kills and 7 digs while Zoe Babnik led the Lakers with 23 digs. Ashlen Horowski recorded 17 digs while Gianna Biondolillo picked up 15 digs in the Laker loss.

Against Grand Rapids, Isabella Schulz led the team with 20 digs, and ace, and 2 kills while Taylor Williams-Stevens finished with 4 kills and 6 digs. Zoe Babnik had 18 digs while Ashlen Horowski recorded 12 digs for the Lakers. Gianna Biondolillo also added 12 digs in the Laker loss.

Player of the Day: Taylor Williams-Stevens  Coach Watts commented, "Taylor just played a strong 6 rotations and really helped pace our team throughout the day."

Next Up: The Lakers will continue in the Grand Rapids Tourney tomorrow when they face off against McHenry County at 10am before finishing up against Lake Michigan at 2:00 pm.