The Muskies started off the tournament strong, winning their first game against Greenville (IL). Junior Anna Faust recorded a career high 19 kills en route to a four set victory. The team came into the tournament with confidence, poised to continue their winning streak.

Faust saw the game as a career milestone. “It was a fun and exciting game, we were the loudest team in the gym, I didn’t even know I set my career high until after the game,” Faust said.

After stretching their winning streak to 5 for the season, Lakeland fell to Willamette University (Ore.) in just three sets. Freshman Brooke Aiazzi credits the loss to the team’s lack of confidence. “ We were playing scared; we were worried about making errors,” Aiazzi said. The Muskies fell 25-13, 25-13, 25-23 against Willamette. They dropped the first two sets in blowouts before nearly rallying to win the third.

Play resumed on Saturday in the afternoon as once again the Muskies fell in 3 straight sets, this time against Dominican Star (IL). After the second loss, the girls rebounded to defeat Greenville (IL) once again, this time winning in 3 straight sets to finish out the tournament.