The Oswego State Volleyball team had a difficult week, playing three times in two days. The first game was a solo game day against Union College, while the second and third games were doubleheaders against Suffolk University and Russell Sage College. 

The Lakers lost their first game by a 3-0 score, being dominated by Union. The game looked like it would be different early on, with the Lakers taking an 8-4 lead. This advantage was significant, as Priscilla McReynolds had several kills. Union got the first approximate on the scoreboard by making good attacks and reaching 9-8, with Georgia Pinciaro being crucial. After that, the Lakers increased their lead to 13-10 and were improving in the game. However, the Lakers had four attacking errors in six points. Turning the score around and increasing the lead, the Unions managed to end the set at 25-17. 

Again, the set looked like it would have a different look at the beginning, with the Lakers making it 3-1 over Union and Mya Bush being crucial in two of those points. After that, the game became more balanced until the score was 7-6 for Union, with many mistakes on both sides. The Lakers started to get worse in the game and Union took advantage of this to destroy the set by scoring 13 points, while the Lakers scored just 3, increasing the score to 20-7 for Union. Shelby McKim was phenomenal during this set, contributing nine points for Union. The Lakers tried to react at the end of the set, but Union ended it all at 25-11.

The third set was the closest one of the game, being very competitive but with great moments from each team. The beginning of the set was very close, with a score of 6-4 for Union. After some attack errors and service errors, the Lakers gave the Union a significant advantage of 14-7. The game was again disputed, with both teams interspersing points between them, leading to a 22-14 advantage for Union. The Lakers focused on the game again and managed to reduce it to 24-21. However, it was too late and Union scored the last point, guaranteeing the set and the game for them.

The second game was against Suffolk University; however, unlike the game against Union, the Lakers had a close confrontation in all sets. The Rams won 3-1, making the Lakers suffer their fourth straight loss.

The first set started with the Rams opening a significant lead with 6-3. Attack errors on the Lakers’ side caused damage at the beginning, with two points coming from these errors and another from a bad set. The Rams increased their lead to 11-8 until the Lakers improved in the game and turned the score to 12-11. After that, the game became tight again, with the teams interspersing points and not opening up a significant advantage. Many of these points came from both service and attack errors. One player who stood out was McReynolds. The game was 22-22, tied until the Rams scored three points and closed the set.

The second set was very similar to the first, except the Lakers took an initial 6-4 lead. However, this advantage did not last long; the entire second set consisted of direct exchanges of points between the two teams. The Lakers stayed ahead for a long time and opened up an incredible 15-10 lead. Harper Phinney was crucial in the game, scoring 5 points out of 15. After this advantage, the Rams managed to get closer and tie everything at 16-16. Everything was similar and close until 22-21, when the Rams scored three points and closed the set.

The third set started with the Lakers dominating and taking a 12-3 lead, with an excellent performance from Kalley Vugteveen. The advantage was significantly reduced, but the Lakers remained at 18-11. After that, the Rams had 5 points, three of which were service aces. They got close to the scoreboard and almost tied things up after a few points, making it 22-21. But the Lakers managed to maintain their momentum and win the set 25-22.

In the last set, the Rams were superior throughout. After the Lakers opened 4-2, the Rams turned the score to 5-4 and then dominated until the end of the set, reaching a distance of 20-13. The final score was 25-18 in favor of the Rams, ending the match with a victory.

The last game was a massive victory for the Lakers, winning 3-0 over the Gators. The first set was very close until it was 5-4 for the Lakers at the beginning. Soon after, the Lakers dominated and opened up a massive 14-7 lead. The Gators lost hope when CJ Eidem scored three service aces in four straight points. After that, the Lakers managed to maintain their incredible performance and finish the set with 25-14.

The second set began with an impressive dominance by the Lakers, opening 18-8 over the Gators with an incredible performance from Phinney. The Gators even got closer by scoring eight points and conceding just one due to many mistakes on the Lakers’ side. However, the Lakers managed to maintain their advantage and finish 26-24.

The third and final set was the most competitive and impressive. No team was able to open a large advantage and they were always competing to see who would get a bigger advantage, but for almost the entire set, the Gators were ahead. At the end of the set, it was 23-21 for the Gators and the Lakers turned around and took control of the match, making it 25-23 and guaranteeing the victory of the match.

The Lakers’ next matchup will be at home against Hilbert in their annual tournament on Sept. 20.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics