Leesburg, Fla. – October has arrived and the Lake-Sumter State College volleyball program has reached the middle of the regular season and their attention turns to the home stretch in the Sun-Lakes Conference.
Lake-Sumter currently holds a 7-8 overall record, the most wins for the team since 2013. Through the first round of conference play, the Lakehawks are 4-1 and sitting in second place behind No. 7 Pasco-Hernando.
In their first conference meeting, LSSC fell to PHSC in an epic match that went to extra points in the fifth and final set. Pasco-Hernando came out winning the first set before the Lakehawks grabbed the next two. Set four saw Lake-Sumter lose an early lead and fall, 25-18. The fifth set was an instant classic with neither team willing to give an inch. It was a back and forth battle that pushed both squads to their limits. The Bobcats ended the madness with back-to-back points for a 19-17 victory to secure the match.
Bouncing back after a tough loss is never easy. Led by Emma Gray's 14 kills, Lake-Sumter got back in the right direction in their match with Gulf Coast State College. It was a three set sweep for the Lakehawks (25-19, 25-15, 25-17). The win keeps them a game ahead of St. John's River who is currently sitting in third place.
Through 15 matches, Gray ranks third in the state in kills per set (3.35) while Gabriela Hernandez is second in assists with 384. Amanda Berecz is having a tremendous sophomore campaign ranking fifth in Region 8 Division II with 226 digs and third in digs per set (4.26).
"We continue to move in the right direction," said Head Coach, Amanda Phelps. "We would have loved to have beat Pasco-Hernando, but the best part is we got to learn from that loss and we get to play everyone again in the second round of conference play. It is very exciting watching our girls get better every day and take it into our matches."
Tuesday marks the start of the second round of conference play as the Lakehawks head to Palatka to face St. John's River State College (16-6, 3-2). It will be a battle between the second and third place teams in the conference and an opportunity to create separation for LSSC. The match is slated for a 6 pm start.