WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Beach Volleyball) – Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) beach volleyball traveled to West Palm Beach, Fla. on Friday morning to open the 2024 season with a pair of Sun-Lakes Conference matches against Palm Beach State College (PBSC) and St. Johns River State College (SJRSC). The Lakehawks split the day falling to PBSC 3-2 and defeating SJRSC 4-1.
Five pairs play in each match. No. 4 and No. 5 pairs compete first, followed by No. 1, 2, and 3 pairs to round out the match.
Match One – Lake-Sumter 2, PBSC 3
Against Palm Beach State, the Lakehawks went up on the Panthers 2-0 in the first round of duals.
No. 4 pair Berklee Andrews and Jayden Ponsford won in two sets 22-20, 21-15. No. 5 Allie Cox and Rylee Martineau also won their dual in three sets, 21-23, 21-19, 15-13, to give the Lakehawks a 2-0 lead.
No. 1 pair Kaylee Hunt and Leanne Blue lost their dual in two sets, 16-21, 13,21.
Palm Beach tied the score with their No. 2 pair defeating the Lakehawk No. 2 pair Mazi Watson and Braelyn Mittauer in two sets, 21-23, 15-21.
No. 3 pair Kai Register and Cassidy Rountree were the deciding dual taking the Palm Beach No. 3 pair to three sets but ultimately falling to the Panthers, 21-12, 15-21, 18-21.
In exhibition, No. 6 pair Jaylen Memmoli and Cecilia Calton lost in two sets, 12-21, 17-21.
Match Two – Lake-Sumter 4, SJRSC 1
Lake-Sumter snagged a huge conference win over SJRSC, defeating the Vikings 4-1 in their second match of the day.
No. 4 pair Andrews and Ponsford won in two sets, 21-18, 21-17. No. 5 Allie Cox and Rylee Martineau won dual in two sets as well, 21-17, 21-18.
No. 1 pair Hunt and Blue secured the team win in three sets, 23-21, 19-21, 15-12.
No. 3 pair Register and Rountree also won in three sets, 25-27, 22-20, 15-13.
The only Lakehawk lost came from the No. 2 pair Mazi Watson and Braelyn Mittauer dual. They fell to the No. 2 Viking pair in two close sets, 17-21, 18-21.
In exhibition, No. 6 pair Audrey Pickle and Sydney Pickle lost in three sets, 19-21, 21-16, 8-15.
Coming off a successful 2023 beach season, head coach Neal Stanley in his fourth year with the team expressed his excitement for the team's performance on Saturday, "We have barely scratched the surface of what these players are capable of. This team has potential to be dangerous this season."
The Lakehawks move to 1-1 on the season, 1-1 in Sun-Lakes Conference play. Lake-Sumter beach volleyball will be back on the courts next weekend for a pair of non-conference matches.
Up next for the Lakehawks
Lakehawk beach volleyball will travel to Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla. for a tri-match with Warner University and Florida Southern College on Saturday, Feb. 10.
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