Preview: First Round Matchup

Leesburg, Fla. – It will be wheels up on Tuesday for the Lake-Sumter State College volleyball team as they travel to Charleston, WV for the NJCAA Division II National Championships.

To get to Nationals the Lakehawks knocked off the top seed in the Region 8 Tournament, Pasco-Hernando. Now, Lake-Sumter will face Lincoln Land Community College out of Illinois in the first round of Nationals on Thursday.

This year marks the fourth consecutive trip to Nationals for the Loggers, who defeated No. 20 Illinois Central College to claim the Region 24/District K Championship. With a regular season record of 28-11, Lincoln Land CC entered the 2018 season ranked third in the nation in Division II. After a few losses early in the season they fell in the rankings, but have since climbed to No. 12 in the latest NJCAA national poll released 10/30.

In 2017, Lincoln Land CC made it to the final four and finished third. The Loggers have not lost a first round matchup at Nationals since 2012. Lake-Sumter and the Loggers have had one common opponent this season, Kansas City Kansas Community College. Back on Sept. 7, the Lakehawks knocked off the then No. 17 team in the country in three sets. LLCC was defeated by Kansas City Kansas CC in four sets later in the season on Oct. 20.

The winner of Lake-Sumter vs Lincoln Land will play either Johnson County or Oakland CC Thursday afternoon. For up to the minute updates, please follow us on twitter @LakehawkSports.