Lakeland College Athletics continues to make history this season
Both women's basketball and women's volleyball are ranked first in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, marking the first time Lakeland has seen two Rustlers squads sitting atop the CCAA rankings in the same week. Women's volleyball has maintained the spot for the duration of this season, following their National Championship in 2023, while women's basketball has been ranked second every week since November and moved up to the number one spot following a loss from defending champion VIU this past week.
Since the fall of 2022, women's volleyball has been in a class by themselves in the CCAA. Despite missing two starters from the championship lineup that went 24-1, including MVP Jenay Varga, Austin Dyer's squad has remained completely dominant, going 10-1 through 11 regular season matches, losing only five sets. Setter Jana Laing, right-side Avery Bates and left-side Lana Matthews have each had All Canadian caliber seasons, with All Star level contributions coming from several other players on the roster. In their most recent matchup against the nationally ranked RDP Queens, who will host the 2024 CCAA Championship, the Rustlers won handily in straight sets.
The women's volleyball team is looking repeat as ACAC and CCAA champs, which would mean a fourth conference title and a third national title for the program. Women's basketball is pursuing their third ACAC title in four seasons and first CCAA title, after winning national bronze in 2022.
This is the third time Chris King's team is flying through the regular season on a long win streak, following similar campaigns in 2016 and 2022, where they were undefeated heading into playoffs. The Rustlers are not only unbeaten through 12 games, but they haven't had a single contest that's ended within single digits. Hineaupounamu Nuku, a 1st year guard from New Zealand, is arguably the best player in the country right now, while the rest of the roster, running more than 12 deep, features multiple players who have been All Conference members or All Canadians in the past. In one of the marquee matchups of the 1st semester, the Rustlers traveled to Lethbridge to face the CCAA's 8th seed, the 9-2 Kodiaks, winning 82-57.
Rustlers Athletics had another CCAA first, having three teams ranked top 15 in the CCAA at once, with men's volleyball making their first appearance on the list in program history. They are still ranked 12th, with an 8-3 record, while men's basketball is on the periphery of the rankings, sitting second in their division at 9-3.
Both CCAA 1st seeds face competitive opponents this weekend in the Keyano Huskies, with volleyball on the road, basketball at home.