The Lakeland volleyball team played host to the Edison State Chargers tonight in OCCAC action and dropped a tough match by the score of 3-0 (14-25, 16-25, 23-25). In the first set, Lakeland fell into a hole early. The Chargers used strong net play that was coupled with a few Lakeland errors to take an early 12-6 lead. Alyssa Lino then hit a kill to make the score 12-7. Lakeland continued their strong defensive play and forced a long rally with the Chargers eventually committing an error for another Laker point. On the next play, Isabella Schulz had a strong block and point to bring the Lakers within 3 at 12-9. After an Edison sideout, Taylor Williams-Stevens ripped a kill to make the score 13-10. Edison then took advantage of Lakeland miscues to grow the lead to 16-10. The Lakers continued to battle as Williams-Stevens helped Lakeland score consecutive points with a block and then a kill to make the score 16-12. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Lakers would get as they dropped the first set. 

In the 2nd set, the Lakers and Chargers battled early. Both teams played strong defense and forced long rallies as they traded points early in the set. With the Lakers trailing 10-8, the match had a very long rally that featured several outstanding digs by Samantha Winter and Abby Karasek. Finally, Taylor Williams-Stevens hit a kill through a block to make the score 10-9. The teams would then each make errors for points before Williams-Stevens had another block for a point tying the score at 11. On the next play, Zoe Babnik made a couple of great digs before Williams-Stevens had a nice tip to give the Lakers a 12-11 lead. The teams would again have a defensive battle with Sydney Park and Isabella Schulz making some great defensive plays. The Chargers capitalized on their opportunities though and took a 14-12 lead. On the ensuing play, Taylor Williams-Stevens and Samantha Winter had a great combo block before Isabella Schulz hit a kill to bring the Lakers within 1 at 14-13. The Lakers would then fall victim to a couple errors while the Chargers made some nice plays at the net as Edison pulled away for the win.

Trailing 2-0, the Lakers came out ready to battle in the 3rd set. Everyone contributed throughout the set. Taylor Williams-Stevens, Sydney Park, Isabella Schulz, and Alyssa Lino all had kills and blocks in playing a strong set at the net. Zoe Babnik continued to make oustanding digs throughout while Gianna Biondolillo played a strong back row. Abby Karasek contributed all over making some nice digs as well as hits from the front row while Samantha Winter continued to be an all around player with digs, a kill, a block, and several great sets. The teams tied at 4, 5, 6, and 10 in the early play. Edison State would then committ an error before Alyssa Lino hit an ace for a 12-10 Laker lead.  The teams would then trade points before Sydney Park hit a tip for a 14-11 Laker lead. The Chargers would slowly claw back into the match as the teams traded errors before Edison hit a couple of kills. With a 16-15 Laker lead, Taylor Williams-Stevens blasted a ball thru the Chargers defense for a 17-15 lead. Edison would tie it at 17 before Sydney Park ripped a ball putting the Lakers up 18-17. The teams would then have another long rally before Edison hit long to give the Lakers a 19-17 lead. The teams continued to trade hits while both defenses were working hard. The Chargers eventually tied it at 20 before the teams both made errors to tie it at 21. Following another long rally, the Lakers would hit it long ball to fall behind 22-21. Williams-Stevens answered right back with another kill to tie the score at 22. On the next play, Lakeland would hit a long ball after an intense rally to fall behind 23-22. The Lakers would answer again as Isabella Schulz scored a point on a tip to knot the score at 23. On the next play, the Lakers went for a strong block, but the ball fell just out of bounds to give Edison the 24-23 advantage. This time the Lakers would not answer as they dropped the 3rd set in an outstanding game by both teams.           

Player of the Match: Taylor Williams-Stevens

Coach Watts' Word: "Give credit to Edison State - they are a good team. I continue to see some growth with our team which is very good though. We really supported each other, communicated well to help each other, and stayed positve - we played like a team throughout - and that was great to see. We definitely got stronger as the match wore on and had some chances in both the 2nd and 3rd set. Quick turnaround tomorrow - we'll come out ready to play."  

Next Up: On Saturday (10/25), the Lakers will celebrate Sophomore Day when they play host to the Clark State Eagles to close out their regular season. Sophomores will begin to be recognized at 10:45 am with the match scheduled to begin at 11:00 am.