Leesburg, FL – It has been a tough stretch of matches for the Lake-Sumter State College volleyball program recently. The Lakehawks continue to deal with some of the best volleyball teams in the country inside the Mid-Florida Conference.

Since Sept. 19, LSSC has competed in five matches. Three of those matches were against top 20 programs in the country. It started with No. 14 Daytona State, who took down the Lakehawks in three sets. On Sept. 21, No. 19 Polk State came to Leesburg where Lake-Sumter gave them all they could handle in four sets. Finally, the No. 11 Central Florida Patriots hosted LSSC and took the match in three straight sets.

Head Volleyball Coach, Amanda Phelps knew the strength of the conference before the start of the season and is still optimistic about her team. "I'm proud of the girls for their fight," said Phelps. "We knew going in that conference play wouldn't be easy. The MFC is one of the best conferences in the nation."  

The Lakehawks have been playing very competitive volleyball during conference play pushing Polk State to extra points in set one, before taking set two, 25-19. Another MFC opponent, Eastern Florida State, went toe-to-toe with LSSC for five sets, but eventually took the match 15-10 in the final set.

Daytona State will host Lake-Sumter this Thursday to begin the second round of conference play. With the opportunity of a birth into the conference tournament still available, the Lakehawks will have to grab a couple victories in the next few weeks. An upset over one the nation's top teams could create havoc inside the Mid-Florida Conference and open the door for postseason play. "We are playing some great volleyball and are excited for the second round," said Coach Phelps about the remaining regular season schedule.

St. John's River State will be the next home match for volleyball, Friday, Oct. 6 at 6 pm.