Springfield, IL -

LLCC split on Day Two of the Labor Day Invitational, dropping straight sets to D-1 Mineral Area College before beating Black Hawk College in four.  LLCC played the first match with little energy while MAC was fresh off a decisive win over Lake Land.  MAC got out to an early 9-4 lead in the first game and coasted 25-18.  LLCC led 16-10 in the second game, but a series of miscues and two kills from MAC back row attacks led to a 18-25 reversal.  The third game was more lopsided, but featured a completely revised LLCC lineup.  "I wanted some of the freshmen to face a higher power lineup—to understand what we are up against, and given that we were down two sets to zero, that's a great time to do that," stated Coach Dietz.  "It's good for them, but also for the team because we need to make sure everyone has experience and can slide into the roster in case of injury."
 
LLCC turned around and immediately played Black Hawk College in the final match, winning games one and two on the hitting of sophomores Kaley Henning and Talesha Scott.  LLCC's defense was flat in the third game, permitting two freeballs to drop as kills in the middle of the court, the dreaded campfire defense, and Black Hawk got out to a 17-9 lead and an eventual 25-16 victory.  In the fourth game, LLCC came out strong and behind five kills from Kiersten Anderson, won going away 25-15.  "I was frustrated with the energy in the last match.  We played like we had it won and you can't do that at the college level.  Worse, we've got some players nicked up at the moment with niggling injuries, one who may have a concussion, and another away because of a family situation.  You have to be able to adjust for the good of the team and we struggled with that in both matches," Coach Dietz said afterwards.
 
The Loggers are now 7-1 and play again Labor Day at Millikin University.
 

Game Results:
LLCC loses to Mineral Area 18-25, 18-25, 13-25
LLCC defeats Black Hawk 25-15, 25-14, 16-25, 25-15
Record: 7-1
Next: MON, 11am @ Millikin Invitational (Frontier CC, Lincoln Trail College region matches)
 
Individual Game Statistics:
Stats vs.  MAC
Digs: Carroll 10, Knop 7
Aces: Beekman 2, Cunningham 1.
Blocks: Anderson 2, Cunningham 1, Sabo 1
Assists: Anderson 11, Mueller 9
Kills: Soebbing 7, Scott 7
 
Vs. Black Hawk
Digs: Hennings 8, Sobotka 7
Aces: Cunningham 6, Scott 2, Beekman 2
Blocks: Cunningham 4, Sabo 2
Assists: Mueller 25, Phillips 18
Kills: Scott 13, Hennings 8, Soebbin 8