The Lakeland volleyball team played the Kellogg Community College Bruins today in the Great Lakes District A playoff. The Lakers gave a valiant effort before eventually falling 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-14) to the Bruins. Set 1 was competitive early as the teams fought back and forth. With the score tied at 2, Isabella Schulz ripped a kill down the line for a 3-2 Laker lead. The teams would trade sideouts before Alyssa Lino hit a kill for a 5-3 Laker lead. After an error by the Bruins, Kellogg would rally to tie it at 6 as the Lakers hit balls just off the court. The Bruins would then hit consecutiuve kills in taking a 10-6 lead before Lino hit another kill. The teams would then two have long rallies that ended with Bruins errors before a tying rally ended after Sydney Park made a great dig to keep a play alive. Samantha Winter would follow with a perfect set to Schulz who would hit another kill thru the Bruins blockers. The teams teams would then trade sideouts before the Bruins went on a run using Lakeland errors and strong blocks in taking a 21-12 lead. The Lakers would not quit though as Isabella Schulz recorded a kill on a deep push. Sydney Park followed with a kill before a Lakeland service error and the score was now 22-14 in favor of the Bruins. Taylor Williams-Stevens followed with a kill before the Lakers blockers forced the Bruins to hit a shot wide to make the score 23-16. The Bruins would then hit a kill before before Park responded with a kill. Samantha Winter then served an ace before Alyssa Lino had a solo block for a point to close the gap to 24-19. Unfortunately for the Lakers, that's as close as they'd get in dropping set 1.
Set 2 had a similar feel as it was close early, the Bruins made a little run in the middle, and the Lakers went on a run late just falling short. Lakeland jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Taylor Williams-Stevens kill and an Abby Karasek ace. Kellogg battled back to tie it at 2 and the teams would tie again at the scores of 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10. The Bruins would then go on a little roll to take an 18-12 lead before the Lakers began to battle back. Williams-Stevens got it started ripping a kill thru the blockers of the Bruins. After a long serve, Alyssa Lino would hit another kill for the Lakers. On the next play, Lino and Sydney Park would combine for a block and a point to bring the Lakers within 4 at 19-15. Abby Karasek then hit a crosscourt kill before Alyssa Lino had another block for a point at the net to make the score 19-17. The Lakers would then committ 2 errors around a Bruin kill to make the score 22-17. Lino would hit a kill on the next play before Isabella Schulz hit a kill down the line to make it 22-19. The Lakers then caught a tough break as they had a block that landed just out before the Bruins closed out the set.
Set 3 was a tough one for the Lakers as the Bruins jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Lakeland would continue to try to battle back, but unfortunatel, were not able to put sustained pressure on Kellogg as they dropped the 3rd set.
Congrats to second year players: Zoe Babnik, Abby Karasek, Alyssa Lino, Sydney Park, Taylor Williams-Stevens, and Samantha Winter.
Coach Watt's Word: "I'm so proud of our team. We really worked hard this season and grew tremendously throughout. We had a competitive spirit that stayed right through our final match. This team put our volleyball program in a good place and have set a high bar that we will try to meet and exceed next year."
