MELBOURNE – Polk State Volleyball had a rough start to the Eastern Florida Tournament. The Eagles opened the two-day tournament with a pair of losses on Friday.

Polk State opened the day with a heartbreaking five-set loss to Lake Land College. The teams traded sets but the Lakers ultimately prevailed, 25-23, 16-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-8.

Lake Land closed with three straight points to take the first set but the Eagles bounced back with the most lopsided set win of the match. After Alexia Ortiz and Ella Langstrom combined for the block to give Polk State set point, Addison Phillippe put the set away with an ace.

Things started good for Polk State in the third as the Eagles raced to a 5-0 lead and later led 16-12. The Lakers, however, responded with a 10-1 run and never looked back.

Polk State overcame a 15-14 deficit in the fourth set by closing on an 11-5 run. After Langstrom's kill gave Polk State a 24-20 lead, Marina Santos ended things with a service ace.

The fifth set, however, was all Lake Land. Lake Land used back-to-back errors by Polk State to close things out. Langstrom's shot was wide as the Lakers prevailed in the first match of the day for the Eagles.

Polk State (2-5) dropped the second match to Jefferson College in straight sets. After two competitive set — 25-21 and 25-22 — Jefferson completed the 3-0 sweep with a 25-17 win in the third set.

Sarah Boe Soerenson led Polk State with eight kills to go with eight digs. Phillippe added seven kills with her team-high 19 assists. Isabella Ramos led the Eagles with 12 digs.

Polk State will close the Eastern Florida Tournament with two more matches on Saturday in what will be its final non-conference matches of the year away from home. The Eagles will take on the University of South Carolina Lancaster at 9 a.m. and Andrew College at 4:30 p.m.