Volleyball squad drops regular-season finale
By Julie Newell
Sports/Photo Editor
The LCC volleyball team opened the match against Muskegon Community College in the Gannon Gym on Tuesday, Oct. 29 by honoring the sophomores on the team.
The sophomores include middle hitter Maya Ferland, left-side hitter Sophia Strieff, left-side hitter Mackenzie Winger, right-side hitter Mollie Winger and setter Allison Couturier.
Sadly for the Stars, Muskegon won the match in five games. LCC won the first two games 25-16, and 25-19, but fell in the next three 25-22, 25-18 and 15-12.
"It's a 'who has the momentum' type of game," Ferland said. "We had the first two sets, but we let them creep in and they're the kind of team where, if they see a hole, they're going to push through it."
LCC Head Coach Emily Quintero commented on how the match went.
"We started real strong, just with our intensity level and working together," Quintero said. "That really brought great rapport on the court, and then we kind of fell apart."
The loss brought the Stars' record to 23-7 overall, and 12-4 in the conference, which put LCC in third place in the MCCAA's Western Conference.
Ferland offered her thoughts on the match.
"One thing we prioritized more than anything was just having fun," Ferland said. "Losing is not fun, but if you see it in the right light it doesn't have to be a bad thing all the time."
Despite the loss the Stars' had 48 kills, with Ferland delivering 16 of those.
There were 96 digs for LCC, with freshman defensive specialist Harley Roe leading the way with 18.
Allison Couturier led LCC with 39 out of the team's 45 assists in the match.
Freshman middle hitter Lana Thompson offered her insight on the loss.
"I think it was just a really mental check for us," Thompson said. "Even though we didn't exactly pull through, we can definitely learn from it in our future games and coming into districts."
The NJCAA Great Lakes District Volleyball Tournament began on Wednesday, Nov. 6 and ends on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Port Huron. LCC was scheduled to face Glen Oaks Community College on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m.