California, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's volleyball team dropped a hard-fought five set match against Kutztown in the team's first contest at the California (Pa.) Invitational Friday night. The Lakers won the opening set 25-15 before dropping the next two sets 25-23, 25-17. Mercyhurst bounced back to tie the match with a 25-18 win in set four, but Kutztown had just enough to win the clincher 15-11.

Jenna Matson had 16 kills and 17 digs in the match, while Kendall Ashworth added a team-high 20 digs. Senior Lauren Kubinski served up four aces.

Kutztown improves to 10-5 on the year and Mercyhurst falls to 8-7. The Lakers will play two more matches in the tournament Saturday.