Lakehawk Volleyball Takes Runner-Up Finish at FCSAA Championship

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (Volleyball) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) volleyball team returned to the 2025 Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Division II Volleyball Championship this weekend. After a huge upset over Gulf Coast State College in the semifinal match, the Lakehawks took second to St. Johns River State College (SJRSC); just missing out on the program's third trip to the national championship.

The Lakehawks entered the tournament as the fourth 4 seed on the bottom half of the bracket with #5 St. Petersburg College and #1 Gulf Coast State. The top half held #2 SJRSC, #3 Pensacola State College, and #6 Indian River State College.

In the opening round of the tournament, Lake-Sumter faced St. Petersburg for the third time this season. In a quick three-set match (25-12, 25-17, 25-18), the Lakehawks eliminated the Titans looking ahead to their toughest match of the weekend.

In the semifinal, full of energy and emotion, the Lakehawks took on the top-seeded Gulf Coast Commodores.

For the first time since 2021, Lake-Sumter put one in the 'W' column against Gulf Coast in five sets (25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-12) advancing to the FCSAA championship match against longtime rival, SJRSC.

The Vikings and the Lakehawks remain the final two teams standing from the Sun-Lakes Conference, almost to the date in 2021 when Lake-Sumter won in four sets advancing to the national championship.

In their third matchup of the season, the Vikings won in three sets (25-16, 25-16, 25-21).

Samantha Beatty and Emma Van Deusen were named by the opposing coaches and tournament staff to this year's all-tournament team.

SJRSC received the South Atlantic District automatic bid. The Lakehawks now await the 2025 selection show scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 12 to see if they receive one of four at-large bids to the NJCAA DII Volleyball Championship.

The national championship is scheduled for Nov. 19-22 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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