ATLANTA, Ga. – The Lakeland College women's volleyball team closed its trip south with a pair of tough assignments but gave a strong account in a pair of losses on the final day of the Emory University Classic.
The Muskies had the daunting task of taking on the No. 1-ranked team in the country in host school Emory and followed that up by facing Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) College. Going against teams with a combined record of 15-1, Lakeland was still competitive in a 25-19, 25-20, 25-21 loss to powerful Emory and then went to four sets in the second match before falling 25-15, 25-22, 19-25, 25-20.
The Muskies finished their trip with a 1-3 record and are now 3-8 overall. That overall record, though, is a reflection of a schedule that now has included three nationally ranked teams and eight losses to teams that are a combined 52-22 this year.
Lakeland made top-ranked Emory work in all three sets. The Muskies led midway through both the first and third sets and also made a run late in the second set, closing a nine-point deficit down to five.
Hannah Scherer (
Fr.-Chillicothe, Ill.) had nine kills and
Kathy Flanagan (
Jr.-Midlothian, Ill.) added seven kills as Lakeland hit .144 as a team with 35 kills and 17 errors.
Caleigh Galvan (
Sr.-New Lenox, Ill.) picked up 19 digs and
Taylor Levitt (
Jr.-Schaumburg, Ill.) finished with 26 assists.
The Muskies got off to a bad start against Birmingham-Southern, trailing 8-0 in the first set, but played much better after and had a real chance to defeat the Panthers in four sets. Lakeland led much of the way in both the second and fourth sets until BSC scored five straight late in the second set and eight straight to turn around the fourth.
Scherer had another quality hitting performance with 14 kills, while Flanagan added 13 kills and
LeShay Jones (
Sr.-Pontiac, Mich.) chipped in 10 more. Galvan had 29 digs and
Emma Bruder (
Fr.-Frankfort, Ill.) added 18 digs, and Levitt had 39 assists.
Galvan was named to the seven-player all-tournament team. Emory's Sydney Miles was named the tourney MVP and the Eagles were the lone team to post a perfect 4-0 record.
Lakeland returns home and will next open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play on Thursday when it hosts Marian University at 7 p.m. at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
