Ending their season with a 18-14 record including a 12-10 PSAC placement, the Mercyhurst women’s volleyball team had another rememberable season to add to their program.

With sophomore Lexi Stefanov leading the team with 273 kills, and junior Rachel Crittle with 269, the Lakers were a powerhouse this season full of young players looking to work strong for their team.

“Overall as a team we had a pretty successful year. We won some really big matches against some top-ranked teams. We played aggressive in every match and competed at our highest level,” senior Nicole Texido said.Alison Ockasi photo: The Mercyhurst women’s volleyball team ended their season with a 18-14 record including a 12-10 PSAC mark.

The Lakers ended their regular season with a 3-1 win of Seton Hill with the team stepping up to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division match. Also, the Lakers are waiting for a possible at-large bid after next weekend’s PSAC Tournament.

“A lot of the freshmen were standout players. Each time they went into a game they played with great attitudes and energy. Sarah Wegrzyn stood out as a freshman starter and competed hard throughout the season. Both middles, sophomore, Lexi Stefanov and junior Rachael Crittle led our team in kills,” Texido said.

The Lakers will lose a total of four seniors this year: Sarah Vick, Nicole Texido, Kelsi Romatowski and Emily Kainer.

“I will definitely miss the competition aspect. I love competing in games, that’s what I look forward to. Our conference has a lot of really good teams and each match we play is so exciting. I just love the adrenaline rush you get when you step onto the court. I will also miss having a team. I had become such good friends with all the girls on my team and I will really miss seeing them every day,” Texido said.

The Lakers had a tough season this year, playing many challenging matches, such as Clarion University and California University.

“The freshmen did a great job of adapting. Throughout preseason they performed their best in every drill and knew the amount of competition in the gym. They all worked hard and continued competing and staying aggressive throughout the season,” Texido said.