Lakeland Rustlers Volleyball Recap - December 2023
Lakeland College Athletics has enjoyed one of the best first semesters in it's history. In the coming days, we will be sharing a recap of each team's season thus far.
Results
Lloydminster continues to grow as a volleyball hotbed, with the best combined semester of the two Lakeland College teams yet.
The defence of women's volleyball's national title has been relatively smooth on court, despite a bevy of injuries, which has kept starters Jenay Varga and Sarah Hogue out of the lineup for the majority of the first half. Through 10 matches, Lakeland is 9-1, with just five set losses in that span and a current win streak of six matches. They sit first in the CCAA National Rankings.
Men's volleyball had their most successful first semester in program history. Through 10 matches, they are 8-2 and ranked 12 in the country, the first time the men's team has been nationally ranked. Along the way, they beat multiple teams that were nationally ranked last year and were expected to compete at the ACAC Championship.
Highlights
Lakeland women's volleyball ended the semester with a pair of victories over the Augustana Vikings, another nationally ranked squad, who entered the matchup 7-1. Avery Bates had one of the best individual showings in the country Nov. 18 against Ambrose University, posting 17 kills and 4 blocks in just three sets.
Men's volleyball, playing without starting right-side Vaughn Zimmer, came from behind to defeated Lethbridge College 15-13 in the fifth set at home on Nov. 17 then two weeks later came from two sets down to win another fifth set in a hostile road gym in Camrose. Left-side Brock Tomyn was named ACAC Athlete of the Week after a stellar showing against the King's Eagles in late October, posting 32 kills, 8 blocks, 25 digs and one service ace.
Statistics
Bates and Lana Matthews sit third and fourth respectively in kills and points per set, while Bates also leads the league in hitting percentage at .462. Jana Laing leads the ACAC in assists per set with 9.36, while also sitting fifth in digs per set.
Brock Tomyn is 10th overall amongst male attackers with 2.89 kills per set, while Jake Willick leads all players with 3.03 digs per set. Kiefer Sinclair is fifth overall in assists (8.18).
Second Semester Outlook
During the break, the women's team is traveling to BC, where they will face multiple PACWest teams, while the men's suqad will host the NWP Wolves for a series of exhibition matches and scrimmages between Jan. 4-6.
Nine matches remain, with the toughest test of the season coming Jan. 14 when the two teams travel to Red Deer. Women's volleyball look to win out the rest of the regular season, which would clinch an 18-1 record for the second straight year. They also graduate fifth year middle blocker Kaylie Lueck, with her senior night ceremony on Feb. 10.
The men follow the RDP matchup with four straight matches against tough competition, courtesy of the Keyano Huskies and NAIT Ooks. A 5-4 record in the second semester will improve on last year's finish of 12-7.
The men also get rookie middle Jeevan Bassi back in the second semester and pick up another middle in Ethan Robertson (a first year out of Manitoba), which will help bolster their depth.
Coaches Stamp
Austin Dyer, Women's Volleyball
"I'm very pleased with the work my team put in throughout the first semester. I've never had a group as injured as this year and my players worked together and found a way to be as competitive as possible. Those circumstances gave a few athletes some opportunities to get on the floor and learn through league play, which they wouldn't have gotten if our team was healthy."
"This gained experience will increase the depth of our team moving forward. I am hoping that we will be fully healthy heading into the second semester and will have the opportunity to compete for a conference championship."
Taylor Dyer, Men's Volleyball
"The best in our program's history and a really good benchmark for good we can be if we train hard and put out our best effort on the weekend. The guys played in tough matches and responded well."
"Beating Lethbridge in 5 was great, that's a tough opponent, sweeping King's is going to be a big factor in the second half. Even the one bad loss against Ambrose was against a good opponent and if you don't play your best you're going to lose in this league.'
"The second half will be a tougher road for us, but I think if we prepare and play our best, we can beat anybody."