ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst volleyball team opened up the Laker Invitational, presented by Scott Enterprises with matches against the Columbia Lions and the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Lakers dropped both matches, losing 3-1 against the Lions, and a hard fough five-set defeat 3-2 against the Golden Flashes.
Game One
The Lakers' opening set turned after they moved ahead 14-12, as Columbia scored six straight points — four on Madison Hsieh service aces — to move in front 18-14. Earlier, Mercyhurst steadied themselves after a 4-1 deficit, with
Ava Carney and
Mia Mattingly putting down kills and
Aliyah Angelici serving through two Columbia attack errors that brought the set to 5-5. The teams continued to exchange points until
Madison Miner, assisted twice by
Alyssa Krause, posted back-to-back kills for an 11-11 tie and a 12-11 Lakers lead;
Julia Shepherd followed with a kill, and a Columbia attack error pushed the Lakers to 14-12. After Columbia's run, the Lakers collected late kills from
Roslyn Guerra, Carney and Shepherd, and Carney's second kill in that stretch made it 21-19 before Columbia closed the set 25-20.
Mercyhurst turned the second set after falling behind 14-10, winning eight of the next nine points to build an 18-15 advantage behind kills from Carney, Shepherd, Guerra and Miner plus blocks involving Carney with Guerra and Shepherd. Earlier, the Lakers answered Columbia's early 7-4 edge with an Angelici service ace and a
Payton Melin kill to tie the set at 8-8, after
Anna Logan had also served an ace in the opening stretch. Columbia later pulled even at 19-19, but Shepherd answered with a kill to put the Lakers back in front. Angelici then served four straight Lakers points, including kills by Mattingly and Melin, before Mattingly's final kill completed a 25-20 set win.
The Lakers turned a 13-7 deficit into a 16-15 lead in the third set, getting kills from Guerra, Shepherd, Melin and Miner while Carney factored into multiple blocks during the comeback. Earlier, the Lakers tied the set at 7-7 after a Guerra kill, a Melin-Carney block and a Columbia ball-handling error, but Columbia answered with six straight points. The Lakers kept responding after moving in front, with Shepherd and Miner kills helping the Lakers stay level deep into the set before a Shepherd kill tied it again at 23-23. Columbia took the final two points on Lakers attack errors to close the set, 25-23.
Mercyhurst fought back from a 24-21 deficit in the fourth set, using a Shepherd-Mattingly block and consecutive Mattingly kills to tie the set at 24-24. Earlier, the Lakers moved in front 4-1 behind kills from Shepherd and Guerra and a Krause service ace, then continued to answer Columbia with points from Miner, Carney and Mattingly while building a 16-11 lead. Columbia worked back to 17-17 and later went ahead 20-18, but the Lakers stayed within reach as Guerra and Shepherd put away kills down the stretch. After the Lakers tied it at 24-24, Columbia took the final two points to win the set 26-24.
Shepherd finished with 18 kills, hit .448 and totaled 19.5 points. Krause recorded 33 assists, five digs and one service ace.
Kelsie Gaiter-Davis collected 17 digs and added three assists. Carney posted six total blocks, including one solo block, and added nine kills.
Game Two
The Lakers worked back to a 12-12 tie in the first set on consecutive kills by
Julia Shepherd,
Mia Mattingly and Shepherd, but Kent St. answered with five straight points and stayed in front the rest of the set. Earlier, Shepherd opened the set with a kill from
Kelsie Gaiter-Davis before the Lakers went ahead 2-0, and the Lakers continued to get points from
Anna Logan,
Ava Carney,
Madison Miner, Mattingly and
Roslyn Guerra as Kent St. built a narrow mid-set edge. Mattingly stopped the 17-12 stretch with a kill from
Alyssa Krause, then added a block on an Adalynn Ginley attack error to make it 19-14. The Lakers got one more point on a Kent St. service error, but the visitors scored the final four points to take the set 25-15.
In the second set, the Lakers pushed deep behind a late response from Guerra, but Kent St. finished the set 25-23. Earlier, Carney and Shepherd helped the Lakers start quickly, and a
Mya Comer service stretch included a
Kalyani Olive-Mattingly block and an Olive kill as the Lakers moved ahead 6-2. The Lakers later held a 15-13 edge after Shepherd's kill from Krause, before Kent St. answered with four straight points to move in front 17-15. After Kent St. built a 20-16 lead, Guerra delivered two kills around a solo block to bring the Lakers within 20-19, then added two more late kills before Shepherd's final kill cut it to 24-23. Kent St. took the next point to close the set, leaving the Lakers with a 25-23 setback in the set.
Krause's turn at the service line helped the Lakers create separation in the third set, taking four straight points from 11-7 to 15-7 and ultimately moving ahead 18-8 during a seven-of-eight stretch. Earlier, the Lakers opened with kills from Shepherd and Carney, then added a
Trinity Tatupu-Carney block to score the first three points. Mattingly followed with a service ace during another early push, and Guerra,
Payton Melin and Shepherd added kills as the Lakers built their cushion. Kent St. cut into the margin late, including four straight points after Guerra's kill made it 24-19. Krause finished the set with a kill as the Lakers closed out a 25-23 win.
The Lakers created separation in the fourth set with an 8-0 stretch from 7-8 to 15-8, then recovered after Kent St. later went ahead 19-18 to win 25-20. Earlier, Melin tied the set with a kill before Tatupu served seven straight points, including an ace, with Melin adding another kill and combining with Mattingly on a block during the run. Kent St. moved back in front on Adalynn Ginley's kill, but Shepherd answered with a kill from Krause and a Kent St. ball-handling error put Mercyhurst ahead 20-19. Mattingly added two late kills, and Comer assisted Olive on consecutive kills for the final two points as the Lakers finished off the set.
Mercyhurst led 7-5 in the fifth set before Kent St. scored seven straight points to move ahead 12-7, a stretch that included three Macie Moreland kills and a Lesley Furuta service ace. Earlier, Shepherd and Carney combined on a block for the opening point, and Carney followed with a kill from Krause as the Lakers built a 3-1 edge. After Kent St. moved in front 4-3, Shepherd answered with a kill and later teamed with Mattingly on a block before adding another kill to help the Lakers get back ahead. Mattingly's kill from Comer gave the Lakers the 7-5 lead, but Kent St.'s run put the set out of reach, and Guerra's late kill was Mercyhurst's final point in a 15-9 set loss.
Shepherd led the Lakers with 17 kills and 18.5 points while hitting .308 and adding three blocks. Mattingly recorded 11 kills, five total blocks and 15 points, with one service ace. Krause finished with 28 assists and 10 digs. Logan collected a team-high 12 digs and added one kill.
The Lakers return to the court on Saturday, Sep. 12 when they face the Niagara Purple Eagles. Coverage begins at 2 p.m.
