SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College volleyball team split a pair of matches at the second Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover weekend, hosted by Shippensburg University and Millersville University. 

The Lakers (15-6) won the first match against Shippensburg in a five-set thriller (25-15, 25-15, 19-25, 25-27, 16-14) before falling to perennial power Lock Haven, 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 25-18). 

Against the Lady Raiders (7-12), Mercyhurst took the first two sets before Shippensburg rallied to tie the match at two sets each. In the deciding set, the Lady Raiders held match point but hit the ball into the net. The Lakers then responded with two points on serve to take the set and the match. 

Becky Leusch and Becky Smith led the Lakers with 10 kills each while Gretta Freyermuth and Chelsea Jensen added nine and eight kills, respectively. 

Julia Butler added 36 assists and moved into sole possession of second-place all-time on Mercyhurst's list. She also contributed 15 digs to finish second on the team to libero Kendall Ashworth, who notched a game-high 23 digs. J. Smith paced the Lakers defense with a shared-game high five blocks and Leusch notched four blocks. 

In the Lock Haven (15-4) match, Jensen paced the Lakers offense with 13 kills and Leusch continued her solid play with seven kills. Butler posted 28 assists to aid the attack, and the Lakers service game added five aces as Jensen put down three and Elyse Texido registered a pair. 

Next up for the Lakers are two more crossover contests, playing host Millersville and East Stroudsburg at the Marauders' campus. Action begins at 10 a.m. against Millersville and concludes with the 5:30 p.m. match against the Warriors.