Despite falling, Lumberjacks head coach Courtney Bennett was impressed with how her team played in the first two sets against a Massena team that boasts an 11-1 record.

“(They) made it super competitive,” she said. “The girls really played within their role and did what we asked. They showed a lot of grit.”

Tupper Lake struggled to get its groove early in the opening set, allowing the Raiders to jump out to a 20-10 advantage. However, senior Kendall Kenniston led the Lumberjacks with a strong serving performance to a 14-4 scoring run to tie the set.

“Kendall hasn’t served that consistently, and been that aggressive with her serve in a couple of games,” Bennett said. “It’s really nice to see that come back. She hasn’t really had the opportunity to get that many service points, so that was great for her.”

After trading points with the Lumberjacks, the Raiders closed out the set, and carried momentum into second with a 19-10 lead. Tupper Lake once again came back with a 9-4 run, but were unable to steal the victory.

“To come play with Massena is great and it just shows the potential this group can have,” Bennett said. “They just need to keep fighting and working to get to those goals.”

The Raiders took command in the third set with an 8-1 run and were never threatened the remainder of the way. The loss dropped Tupper Lake’s overall record to 2-11.

Kenniston finished Thursday’s contest with 10 service points, while teammate Addison Brown had five. Bennett added that Mary Becker had a stand out game for Tupper Lake.

Following the contest, the Lumberjacks will travel to Salmon River at 6 p.m. on Monday. The Shamrocks defeated Tupper Lake 3-0 in its previous matchup on Sept. 10.

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Saranac Lake 3, Northeastern Clinton 0

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The Saranac Lake volleyball team defeated the Northeastern Clinton Cougars 3-0 on the road Thursday. The Red Storm, which improved to 9-4 overall, won by scores of 25-9, 25-8 and 25-8

Abby Isabella paced Saranac Lake with a team-high 13 points, five aces and three digs. Emily Gay and Alice LaDue also had a solid outing. Gay chipped in with 12 points and five kills, two aces and two digs, while LaDue added 14 assists, 12 points, four aces and one dig.

The Red Storm will host Saranac Central on Monday, before closing out the regular season with road matches against Northern Adirondack on Thursday and Lake Placid on Wednesday, Oct. 30. All three contests are slated for a 6 p.m. start.

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Individual statistics

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SL — Alice LaDue 12 points, 4 aces, 14 assists, 1 dig; Emily Gay 12 points, 2 aces, 5 kills, 2 digs; Abby Isabella 13 points, 5 aces, 3 kills, 3 digs; Lexie Donaldson 2 points, 1 ace, 3 digs; Whitney Warner 2 points, 1 ace, 5 kills, 1 assist; Rori Chenaille-Schenk 9 points, 4 aces, 1 dig; Sophia McBride 2 points, 4 kills; Sophie Czadzeck 1 points, 1 ace; Mackenzie Crane 2 kills; Marley Logan 1 kill, 1 dig; Melody Costigan 1 point, 1 dig.