2024 ACAC WVB Championship Weekend Recap

It's officially a dynasty at Lakeland College.

The women's volleyball program captured back-to-back ACAC Championships for the second time in program in history, making it four titles in seven seasons. The Rustlers accomplished the feat by winning nine of 10 sets over the weekend in Lethbridge, living up to the number one national ranking by the CCAA. Lakeland has now tied Grande Prairie College for the fourth most WVB titles in ACAC history at four, trailing only Red Deer, Grant MacEwan and Mount Royal.

Head coach Austin Dyer, who was named National Coach of the Year during last year's championship run, was concise in praising his squad for their dedication to their goal of repeating the success of 2022/2023.

"The persistent pursuit of excellence of this group has been unbelievable," he said.

Like the previous season, Lakeland dropped just one of 19 league matches and only dropped two more sets than they did in 2023. That dominance led to a plethora of accolades at the awards banquet on Feb. 21, where left-side Lana Matthews, right-side Avery Bates, setter Jana Laing and libero Seanna Trumier were named to the All-Conference Team. Matthews and Bates were top five in multiple statistical categories, Laing lead the league in assists per set and Trumier was in the top four in both reception quality and digs per set.

The quarterfinal round was against the host Lethbridge Kodiaks, who the Rustlers had swept back in November at home. This night wasn't much different, with Lakeland quickly silencing the home crowd to win in straight sets, 25-17, 25-13, 25-14. Matthews was Player of the Game with 8 kills, 10 digs, 4 aces and solid reception on serve receive, while Bates added 12 kills and 5 aces.

This year's semifinal was a rematch for the Rustlers, as they squared off with the RDP Queens, this year's CCAA host. Lakeland came under pressure in the opening set, with the Queens using physicality to their advantage in the opening set, winning 25-18. This was the first time women's volleyball had lost a set in a match since Dec. 1, when they defeated Augustana 3-1 in Camrose.

However, the Rustlers responded immediately in the second, winning the remaining sets 25-14, 25-13, 25-20. Matthews had a match high 17 kills, while Laing was named POG, posting 41 assists, 17 digs, 2 kills and 3 aces.

Saturday's championship match was a win-or-go-home scenario for the women's squad, with no wildcard seed coming out of the ACAC because of RDP hosting nationals. Their opponent was the Ambrose Lions, the top seed from the South Division and playing in their first gold medal match. In the regular season meeting, Lakeland swept the Lions, but the set scores were closer than most contests this year.

Once again, the Rustlers were not going to be denied, sweeping the match 25-18, 25-19, 25-18 to win gold. Graduating fifth year middle Kaylie Lueck won POG, posting 3 kills, 2 blocks and 2 digs, as well as supplying constant serving pressure. Several other players also shined, including a match high 11 kills from Matthews, 9 kills each from Bates and former CCAA MVP Jenay Varga and 6 service aces from rookie middle Raegan Nicol who got the start on Saturday after sitting previously.

Both left-sides, Matthews and Varga, were named tournament All-Stars, while Laing won MVP for the second straight ACAC Championship. The fourth year setter credited the effort of the entire team and noted they had unfinished business left this season.

"There's no better feeling than seeing all the hard work we put in this past year pay off, resulting in us reaching the goal we have been striving for," Laing said. "We can't wait to continue the journey at nationals!"

The CCAA competition begins March 6 in Red Deer, where the Rustlers will face the CMU Blazers, who won the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference. That quarterfinal match will take place at 3:00 PM, which will be streamed live via the CCAA.