Sept. 8, 2007

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - Junior Jenna Matson tallied a season-high 23 kills and sophomore Julia Butler posted a season-high 57 assists to help the Lakers to a four-game victory over Tiffin and cap the Laker Invitational with a 4-0 record. With the victory, the Lakers improve to 12-1 on the season, which stands as the best start in school history.

The 2007 team eclipses the 11-1 mark previously set by the 2005 team. During the streak, the Lakers posted an 8-0 record at home, including a 7-0 mark in the Mercyhurst Invitational and Laker Invitational the last two weeks.

After cruising past Stonehill 3-0 in the morning session, the Lakers battled to a 30-22, 31-33, 32-30, 30-20 win over Tiffin (3-11).

Game one was tied as late as 19-19, but the Lakers ticked off a 9-1 run sparked by pair of service aces from Butler, who finished the match with three. That run put the game out of reach, and senior Christine Nisbet closed it with one of her nine kills on the day.

After Tiffin captured game two, neither the Lakers or the Dragons managed to lead by more than three throughout the third. Mercyhurst didn't lead until 30-29 and finally closed the game with a kill from freshman Justine Smith and an attack error by Tiffin.

The Lakers took game three in convincing fashion, using four kills from Matson and capitalizing on costly Tiffin errors.

Junior Lauren Kubinski finished the match with 18 kills, 13 digs, one block solo and three block assists. Butler and Matson also added 17 and 14 digs respectively. Freshman Kendall Ashworth contributed 19 digs.

The Lakers put their nine-match winning streak on the line when they travel to Findlay on Sept. 14 for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opener.

Laker Invitational Saturday Results Mercyhurst def. Stonehill; 30-20, 30-26, 30-23
Saginaw Valley def. Ohio Valley; 30-26, 30-24, 30-15
Tiffin def. Stonehill; 30-16, 30-22, 30-18
Saginaw Valley def. Le Moyne; 30-23, 30-18, 30-20
Mercyhurst def. Tiffin; 30-22, 31-33, 32-30, 30-20
Le Moyne def. Ohio Valley; 30-27, 30-25, 30-16

Laker Invitational All-Tournament Team Katie Luker, Tiffin
Brooke Bernabei, Tiffin
Carmen Schacher, Saginaw Valley
Sarah Redouth, Saginaw Valley
Jenna Matson, Mercyhurst
Julia Butler, Mercyhurst
Kendall Ashworth, Mercyhurst