The road wasn't kind to the Nipissing Lakers women's volleyball team this past weekend.

Nipissing dropped both matches on the road, losing 3-0 to McMaster Saturday afternoon, before falling in five to the Brock Badgers Saturday, moving Nipissing to 7-8 on the season, good for third place in the East Division.

The Lakers are currently in a battle with York and Queens for two playoff spots, one of which Nipissing holds at the moment.

On Saturday, facing the West Division's top team, the Lakers came up short, losing in straight sets - 25-12, 25-17 and 25-12.

Erika Lapierre led the Lakers with nine kills, while Tracy Hammerton and Victoria Willars each had four.

Looking to bounce back, the Lakers struggled in with consistency department, as the match with Brock went back and forth.

After picking up a 25-19 win in the opening set, the Lakers dropped the second set 30-28, despite building up a lead at the technical timeout.

Brock would even things up, but the Lakers would respond and win the third set 26-24, putting them back into control of the match still without playing their best volleyball.

Unfortunately, Brock would answer and win both the fourth and fifth sets to claim the match and upset the Lakers, causing the logjam in the East Division standings.

A win would have put the Lakers two points clear of both York and Queens and helpd their cause as they push for the post-season in their fourth season as a member of the OUA.

Leading the Lakers offence was Tracy Hammerton with 15 kills, Erika Lapierre had 11 and Shayla Kessler added eight versus Brock.

Nipissing will remain on the road, facing RMC and Queens next weekend in two huge matches that will go a long way in determining whether the Lakers advance to the playoffs or not.

Following those matches, Nipissing returns home for a pair of home matches on Feb. 24 and 25, as they close out the regular season.