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BY TRAVIS DAVID

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For the past several years the Shakamak volleyball team has participated in the Eastern Greene Round Robin early in the season. Those three matches are typically against local teams already on their schedule including some conference teams.

After a run to the Class 1A Regional Championship game last fall, the Lakers decided it was time to change up their schedule to better prepare for unfamiliar teams in the postseason.

Insert the Spartan Invitational on Saturday.

The Lakers picked up a pair of bookend tournament wins, making the 2-hour trek back home with a 3rd-place trophy.

Shakamak opened the day with a 25-9, 25-13 win over Irvington Prep Academy and finished the day with an impressive win over Columbus Christian in the 3rd-place match. In the tournament semifinals, the Lakers dropped a tough 25-20, 25-23 loss to Oldenburg Academy — a regional finalist from last season.

With the 2-1 day, Shakamak improved to 9-3 on the season.

“I thought it was a great day for us,” Lakers’ coach Emeral Goff said of playing in the 8-team tournament. “The girls really gave a full team effort today. We would have liked to have been in the tournament championship, but overall I felt like we saw a lot of growth from the team.”

Despite the lopsided score in the opening win, Goff noted IPA made the Lakers adjust on the fly.

“They kept us on our toes with many quick free balls but I thought the girls did a great job of taking advantage of utilizing our hitters with quick sets,” the Lakers’ coach explained. “Our passing was great and our setters and hitters made some great connections.”

In the semifinals, the Lakers hung close to the taller Twisters before falling late.

“We knew coming in that their height would give us some problems, but I thought we handled it fairly well,” Goff stated. “We had some great rallies that went our way but unfortunately we had some late in the first set that put us behind.”

Oldenburg had a slim 18-17 lead in the first before scoring seven of the next 10 points for the 1-0 lead in the match. Half of those final points by OA came on errors from the Lakers.

In the second, Shakamak fell behind 18-8 before making a rally, pulling even at 22. Two more errors — on a dig and a serve — led to the Twisters securing the match.

“Definitely hated that it ended on a missed serve, but I am proud of these girls for showing the fight they did to get back into it,” Goff said. “Losing is hard, but it was incredible to see them fight back the way they did and have a chance.”

In the third-place match, the Lakers dominated from the service line.

Madelyn Kennett (6) and Peyton Gambill accounted for 16 points in the opening set while Jama Ewers, Gambill and Brylee Faullk combined for 16 points from the service line in the second.

Shakamak played the tournament with the service of senior Jaedyn Boram who was out of action due to acute bronchitis.

“Ava McCrary stepped into her spot and did a fantastic job for us today,” Goff said of her sophomore. “She made some great connections with our hitters.”

Shakamak plays host to South Knox on Monday in a non-conference match.

NOTE: This story will be updated with player stats when they are available.

Thank you to McKinley Seamless Guttering for the sponsorship of this story