After losses to Hamilton and Clarkson, the Lakers begin their season at a record of 1-5.

The Oswego State Volleyball team played three games in Canton and Potsdam, NY, for the North Country Classic against St. Lawrence University, Hamilton College and Clarkson University.  The Lakers snagged a win against St. Lawrence in a thrilling five-set match before dropping the remaining two contests of the weekend.  

  The first set rallied to a 21-21 tie until a service error by St. Lawrence edged the Lakers ahead by one. Sydney Chiffriller, Georgia Farry and Olivia Bunn each attained the last three points to take the set 25-21. 

In the next set, the teams were tied six times before Oswego scored six in a row to take the lead 19-18. The score would be tied an additional four times before St. Lawrence overpowered the Lakers and attained the last three points of the set making the score 26-24. 

Now tied overall with one set each, the Lakers were trailing 17-8. Two kills by Grace Gdovin and two errors by the Saints would lift Oswego to 17 against St. Lawrence’s 20. The Lakers would not bounce back as the Saints bested them 25-20.  

Oswego claimed the lead for the entirety of the fourth set, overpowering St. Lawrence 25-16. 

Oswego and St. Lawrence again rallied back and forth for the majority of the last set. Oswego gained momentum scoring five straight points from two kills by Cara Simplicio, two service aces from Emily Zeisler and an attack error from St. Lawrence. This led the Lakers to a 15-12 win, taking the game 3-2 overall.  

Leading the Lakers were Farry and Simplicio with 11 kills each.  Zeisler had 19 assists and five aces. Madison Gordon totaled 16 assists. Kaylee Troy had 18 digs. 

The Lakers first win this season also marked Jon Stenman’s first win as the new head coach.

Oswego in their second game of the weekend fell to the Hamilton College Continentals 0-3. 

The Lakers kept the first set close early on with the score tied 11-11 but were unable to gain the lead for the rest of the set, falling to Hamilton 25-18. 

Oswego only held the lead once early on for the entirety of the second set. Meanwhile the Continentals were on a roll as they scored the last 10 points in a row, ending the set 25-14. Similarly for the third set, the Lakers were unable to take the lead as a four point run by Hamilton more than doubled the Lakers’ score. Oswego did not close the margin, resulting in Hamilton’s 25-16 win.  

Top stats from the game were Farry with four kills and one block. Simplicio had two aces, Troy had eight digs, Bunn had four kills and Zeisler had nine assists. 

During the third and final game of the weekend, Oswego was bested by Clarkson who took all three sets. 

The Lakers scored the first five points in the first set. They would maintain the lead until the Golden Knights pulled ahead from a service ace making the score 13-12. Clarkson scored nine straight points to go ahead 22-12. Oswego would answer back with three points of their own but it was not enough as Clarkson won 25-17. 

Both teams consistently rallied back and forth in the second set. A service error on Clarkson’s set point lifted Oswego to point 21. A service ace by Simplicio, and an attack error by the Golden Knights brought Oswego within one, making the score 24-23. Clarkson then followed up with a kill to take the set 25-23. 

The Lakers likewise fell to the Golden Knights during the third set. The Golden Knights went on multiple scoring streaks while Oswego struggled offensively which resulted in a 25-16 loss.  

Chiffriller had five kills, three aces and two blocks. Simplicio had six kills, two aces and seven digs. Zeisler had 13 assists and seven digs. Troy totaled 18 digs. 

Oswego’s record for the season sits at 1-5. 

The Lakers look to gain momentum as they will compete Sept. 15-16 at the RIT Invitational.  They will face Trine University, St. John Fisher and University of Rochester. 

Photo via: Oswego Athletics