News photo — Lou Reuter Lake Placid’s Aubrey Hayes bumps the ball while teammate Karis Hudson follows the play during Monday’s match at Saranac Lake.

SARANAC LAKE — It’s the final week of the season for Lake Placid’s volleyball team, and the Blue Bombers kicked off their run of four matches in five days with a 3-1 loss to Saranac Lake on Monday, April 25

Playing at home, the Red Storm maintained their recent mastery over their rival, defeating the Blue Bombers by scores of 25-14, 16-25, 25-17 and 25-23.

The win was the second of the season for the Red Storm, who improved to 2-4 with two matches remaining this week. Meanwhile, the Blue Bombers fell to 1-4 during a week where they were slated to play some of the top teams in the league.

Lake Placid went on to suffer another tough defeat on Tuesday when Plattsburgh came through with a 3-0 sweep at home. The Blue Bombers were then slated to play at Beekmantown Wednesday and close out the Fall II season at home Friday against AuSable Valley.

Although Saranac Lake came out on top, head coach Mike Navarra said he would like to be seeing more consistancy and enthusiasm from his young squad.

News photo — Lou Reuter Julia Crawford makes a play at the net for Lake Placid while teammate Dylan Bashaw stands ready during Monday’s match. Also pictured for Lake Placid is Evelynn Sharp.

“We won out of sheer athleticism and the ability to get good hard serving,” Saranac Lake coach Mike Navarra said.

Navarra credited freshman Anica Null and junior Alyssa LaPierre with standout efforts in the win. LaPierre led Saranac Lake with 12 points, five aces and five kills. Null chipped in with five kills, three aces, a dig and four points.

Mia Sanford also recorded a team-high seven kills for the Red Storm, and Azra Michael tallied 13 assists in the win.

Lake Placid competed without two experienced starters in the lineup and put in a valiant effort despite playing shorthanded. After dropping the opening game, the Blue Bombers notched a win in the second game, and nearly forced a fifth-and deciding game but came up a sliver short in losing the fourth game by two points.

Sophomore Julia Crawford had a strong outing all around for the Blue Bombers, finishing with five points, one ace, eight kills, 11 digs, two blocks and a pair of assists. Karis Hudson topped the team with 11 points and 13 digs. Evelynn Sharp finished with three points, a match-high nine kills, 11 digs, a block and 9 assists. Dylan Bashaw also had a strong serving performance for Lake Placid.

News photo — Lou Reuter Evelynn Sharp sends the ball over the net against Saranac Lake Monday.

Saranac Lake 3,

Lake Placid 1

25-14, 16-25, 25-17, 25-23

Saranac Lake — Null, 5 kills, 3 aces, 1 dig, 4 points. Michael, 1 kill, 4 digs, 1 points, 13 assists. White, 1 dig. Lapierre, 5 kills, 5 aces, 12 points. Sanford, 7 kills, 1 block. Hewitt, 4 aces, 3 digs, 5 points. Whitson, 2 kills, 3 aces, 2 digs, 5 points, 1 assist. Burcume, 1 point. K. Leeret, 1 kill, 2 aces, 2 digs, 8 points, 3 assists, S. Leeret, 1 point.

Lake Placid — Smith, 2 points, 1 ace, 1 kill, 2 digs. Hudson, 11 points, 2 aces, 2 kills, 13 digs. Megliore, 2 points. E. Sharp, 3 points, 1 ace, 9 kills, 11 digs, 1 block, 9 assists. Hayes, 1 point, 1 kill, 2 digs, 1 assist. M. Sharp, 2 points, 2 kills, 2 digs. Gavin, 1 point. Crawford, 5 points, 1 ace, 8 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks, 2 assists. Bashaw — no statistics availble.e