Beach Volleyball Championship Page
TAVARES, Fla. (Beach Volleyball) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) beach volleyball team took third at the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Beach Championship. Their third-place finish is the highest finish of any LSSC sport in history.
In their first match, the Lakehawks lost a close match to St. Johns River State College 3-2. Then, came back in the third-place match to defeat South Mountain Community College 3-1.
Match One – Lake-Sumter 2, SJRSC 3
No. 3s Alyssa Guarino and Leanne Blue secured the first Lakehawk win in two sets, 21-16, 21-16.
No. 5 pair Berklee Andrews and Alanis Figueroa Rivera were the second win defeated the Viking pair, 21-16, 22-20.
No. 2 pair Cassidy Rountree and Kaylin McCann lost in two sets, 21-23, 13-21.
No. 4 pair Leslie Catlett and Jayden Ponsford fell to the St. Johns River pair in three close sets, 21-9, 15-21, 14-16.
The match came down to the third set with No. 1 pair Yarelis Lopez Osorio and Kaylee Hunt but ultimately fell to the Viking pair, 16-21, 22-20, 8-15.
With the win, SJRSC advanced play Palm Beach State College in the Championship match. The Lakehawks moved on to the third-place match to play South Mountain.
Match Two – Lake-Sumter 3, South Mountain 1
No. 5 pairs Andrews and Figueroa Rivera finished in two sets, 23-21, 21-19.
No. 4 pair Catlett and Ponsford won their dual in two sets, 21-15, 21-14.
No. 2s Rountree and McCann lost to the Cougar pair in two sets, 14-21, 19-21.
No. 3s Guarino and Blue clinched the match for the Lakehawks in a nail-biting three-set finish, 21-18, 18-21, 15-13.
The Lakehawks finished the tournament in third place, the highest of any team in LSSC athletics history. Lake-Sumter had their best season yet, finishing with a 13-11 overall record.
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