The Oswego State volleyball team welcomed a trio of squads to the Max Ziel Gymnasium for a three-game home stretch, with battles against SUNY Morrisville, SUNY Cortland and SUNY Canton.

The Lakers faced off with the Mustangs in a tight contest on Friday, Oct. 24. The momentum continually flipped, as neither squad was able to win consecutive sets. The Lakers took the opening set, on account of a variety of miscues from their opposition, including an attacker error by Isabelle Eskierka, which gave the Lakers their set-clinching point.

The Mustangs rebounded in the second set with a 25-23 win. The team cleaned up their mistakes from the previous set using Isabella Eskierka and Samantha Siedlecki, with 27 and 8 kills respectively, to charge their offense, while the defense was also on point.

The Lakers then turned the wheel back in their favor, as they picked up a 25-23 victory in set three. They were down early, including a deficit of six points at one time. However, the offense, led by Kalley Vugteveen and Gabriella Bishop, found rhythm. The star-studded sophomore, Priscilla McReynolds, brought home the set-clinching kill, finalizing a 25-23 win.

The Mustangs took set four, 25-18, for the biggest margin of victory that the game would see. The Mustangs controlled the tempo from the jump, not giving up a lead all set. Eskierka had a favorable six-kill outing, while Megan Barcone capped off her performance with the set-clinching kill, for the team to tie things up at two points apiece.

A momentum-shifting battle was had in the final 15-point set, but the Lakers evidently thrived where the Mustangs fell short. Gigi Basile powered the ball past defenders for the Lakers’ 13th point, followed by a service ace from defensive mastermind CJ Eidem. Then, a bad set by Cassandra Bellmore lifted the Lakers to their victorious final point, rendering them as 15-12 winners in the set.

The Lakers found themselves on the bad end of a shutout the next day, as they fell 3-0 to Cortland on Saturday, Oct. 25. The Red Dragons, who sit at the top of the SUNYAC with an undefeated in-conference record, got off to a blazing start. They limited the Lakers to just four total points, emphasizing their commitment to defense en route to a 25-4 win in set one.

The Lakers found their footing for a bit in set two, but ultimately fell short. The Red Dragons had a diverse attack on offense, as multiple different players contributed in the 25-19 win. The gritty final set was closer than either of the previous two, as the Lakers, headlined mainly by Basile and McReynolds, crawled back from an early 7-3 deficit. However, their offense was not enough, as the Red Dragons used the talented two-way depth they had to an advantage, for a 27-25 win, and a 3-0 game victory.

The Lakers redeemed themselves just three days later, as they clinched a 3-0 sweep (25-20, 25-19, 25-19) over Canton. The team pulled away after a tight three sets, thanks to the usual suspects McReynolds, who had a team-high 14 kills, Basile (8) and Vugteveen (6), leading the offensive charge. Eidem and Lauren Cropp maintained their strong defensive reputation, as the two each recorded 11 digs, while Mya Bush stepped into her usual role of the offensive facilitator, with 36 assists on the day, heavily aiding her team in the sweep.

The Lakers hit the road for their season finale, as they are primed to take on both Clarkson and Skidmore in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, Nov. 1, at both 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.