Leesburg, Fla. – It's official! Lake-Sumter State College beach volleyball is off and running in the sand.

The season officially began Saturday, February 8 against Warner University and St. Leo University. Both schools have established beach volleyball programs, but the Lakehawks held their own.

St. Leo came out and showed why they were one of the premier beach programs in the state of Florida, winning the match 5-0. LSSC competed very well against Warner taking two wins out of the five. Pair No. 1, made up of Katie Carpenter and Haley Franklin, won their matches by scores of 21-15 and 21-19. Pair No. 4, Skyler Martin and Macey McGinnis, took two from their opponents, 21-14 and 21-9. The Lakehawks would fall one win shy, 3-2, to Warner.

The next competition came against Palm Beach Atlantic University who have also had a beach program for the last few years. The NCAA DII affiliate took five straight matches from Lake-Sumter to complete the sweep.

"Looking at our program after the first week, I am very excited to see how the rest of the season goes," said Head Coach, Nate Camnitz. "Our girls fought and have worked hard every minute they are out there. We have achieved a lot in a very little amount of time and we are only going to get better and improve."

Next up for the Lakehawks will be Bryant & Stratton College out of Wisconsin. This will be the Bobcats first season participating in beach volleyball as well. The contest will take place at Hickory Point Beach beginning at 10 am. At 2 pm, the Lakehawks will take on State College of Florida – Manatee-Sarasota.