Lady Eagles are ON TO STATE!

The Lakeside Eagle volleyball team celebrated the high school careers of eight seniors on Tuesday, October 27, 2009. The seniors included Lauryn Bassen and Leslie Stillar (captains) Ashley Durrance, Chelsey Johnson, Alex Daggy, Amy Juran, Katie Whiteside, and Pam Seitz. These young ladies were recognized and honored for their commitment, hard work, and dedication to the volleyball program. Their last match on their home court did not turn out how they wanted. They met the Newport Grizzlies. Newport was undefeated and League Champions. The Eagles had many opportunities to take over the match but lost in four games. The scores were 22-25, 25-19, 22-25, and 20-25. Lauryn Bassen led the Eagles with 33 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 ace. Alex Daggy added 15 kills, and Grace Stillar had 12 digs and 1 ace.

The Eagles finished the season tied for second place with Freeman. They met Freeman in the first round of play-offs on Saturday, November 7. The Eagles stormed into districts starting the district play-offs with Katie Whiteside serving 12 unanswered points. The Eagles swept Freeman in three games; 25-8, 25-21, 25-14. Leslie Stillar and Alex Daggy racked up 15 kills a piece. Lauryn Bassen added 29 assists and 4 aces. In the defensive column, Leslie Stillar and Lexie Zappone each had 1 block. Grace Stillar and Alex Daggy led with 8 digs a piece.

The Eagles victory set them up for the District Championship. They met the Newport Grizzlies one more time. The Lady Eagles barreled out to an early lead, and the Grizzlies did not know how to respond. The tremendous blocking at the net frustrated the Newport hitters. It was a battle to the finish, with the Eagles never letting up. The Eagles won the first two games 25-19, 25-20. The third game was quite a battle. The Grizzlies took a quick lead, but put up a fight with every point. The Grizzlies were ahead 24–19 when Katie Whiteside stepped up to the serving line. Knowing that one point, one mistake, would be the game, and take the match into a fourth game, the Eagles never gave up. Katie was clutch, and so was the whole team. They won the next eight consecutive points, took the District Championship, and won the first seed to State. Leslie Stillar had 8 kills and 10 digs. Alex Daggy contributed 7 kills, 4 blocks, and 6 digs; Savannah Rolston added 12 digs. Lauryn Bassen had 22 assists and 2 aces. Katie Whiteside added two very important aces. The team had 9 blocks against Newport. CONGRATULATIONS LAKESIDE VOLLEYBALL!

Congratulations also to NEA All-League Volleyball Players:

First Team – Alex Daggy and Leslie Stillar
Second Team – Lauryn Bassen
Team Sportsmanship Award - Lakeside