ERIE, Pa. — Mercyhurst (7-13, 3-5 NEC) lost to Central Conn. St. (6-15, 4-4 NEC) 3-1 on Saturday. The Lakers hit .168 with 33 kills, while Central Conn. St. finished with 48 kills and a .257 hitting percentage.
The Lakers erased a 14-9 deficit in the first set and moved in front 17-16 before Central Conn. St. answered late and took the set 25-20. Earlier,
Anna Logan opened the match with a kill from
Alyssa Krause, and
Madison Miner added two early kills as the Lakers stayed within reach through the first half of the set. The Lakers' push included a
Julia Shepherd kill, a Logan service ace, blocks involving
Mia Mattingly, Shepherd and
Payton Melin, and a
Mya Comer ace that trimmed the margin to 15-14. After Mercyhurst tied the set at 16-16 and went ahead on a Central Conn. St. attack error, the visitors responded from an 18-18 tie with four straight points to create the separation they carried to the finish.
An 8-0 surge created separation for the Lakers, turning a 5-3 edge into a 13-3 lead behind a Shepherd kill, two Miner kills, a Mattingly kill, a Mattingly-Miner block and a Comer service ace. Earlier, Logan helped the Lakers start fast with a kill and consecutive service aces as the home team opened the set at 4-0. After Central Conn. St. moved the score to 16-8, the Lakers put together another service stretch, with
Roslyn Guerra contributing back-to-back kills and Krause adding an ace during a push to 21-8. Central Conn. St. answered with a late run to close within 22-17, but the Lakers finished the set with a Shepherd kill, a Mattingly kill and a Central Conn. St. attack error for a 25-17 win.
The Lakers held a 20-18 lead late in the third set, but Central Conn. St. came back to tie it at 20-20 and later won four of the final five points to take the set, 25-22. Earlier, the set stayed tight until
Anna Logan's service ace evened it at 8-8, and Shepherd added three kills in a four-point span to keep Mercyhurst level at 10-10. Mattingly then served back-to-back aces, and
Ava Carney and
Erin Robbins combined on a block as the Lakers turned a 13-13 tie into a 16-13 advantage. The Lakers remained in front after Carney and Miner kills made it 19-16 and 20-18, but Central Conn. St. pushed ahead 24-21 before the Lakers earned one more point on an attack error.
In the fourth set, Mercyhurst opened with a 5-2 lead, getting kills from Carney and Mattingly before a Central Conn. St. attack error added to the early edge. After Central Conn. St. tied the set at 6-6, Mattingly served an ace and Guerra added a kill, but the visitors moved ahead 10-9 on an ace. The Lakers answered several times through the middle of the set, with Miner and Logan contributing kills to bring the score even at 13-13. Central Conn. St. created separation from there, though Robbins teamed with Mattingly and Carney on blocks that helped the Lakers stay within reach before Miner added another late kill. The visitors closed the set with the final two points to take it 25-19.
Miner led the Lakers with eight kills and added 10 digs. Mattingly finished with five kills, four service aces and four block assists. Krause recorded a team-high 18 assists with four digs and one ace. Logan added four service aces, three kills and four digs.
The Lakers return to the court when they travel to New Haven to take on the Chargers on Thursday, Oct.29.
View the 2026 schedule
here.
