Three Lakeland Rustlers seniors have tried to make the most of their fifth and final college women’s volleyball season, as short as it’s been.
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With Alberta conference sanctions sidelining the Rustlers for most of the first half of the season, their unbeaten run on the court is that much more significant for the Lakeland trio in Year 5 — Avery Bates, Emma Jeffs and Seanna Trumier.
“Yeah, there were conversations about whether they should red-shirt and come back and finish their last year next year, when we could have a full season,” said Austin Dyer, coach of the three-time defending conference and national champions.
“But they said, ‘You know what, we’ve still got work to do and there’s still time left in this season for us to still have success and see if we can defend our ACAC and CCAA titles.’
“We’re currently on track, hopefully, to maybe qualify (for conference post-season play). We’re in a dogfight right now to get into the playoffs. But, of the seven matches we’ve been able to play this season, we’re 7-0, with four to go. If we can keep going and keep rolling, hopefully we’re going to be able to get ourselves a playoff spot and have an opportunity to defend our title.”
Last weekend at home, the Rustlers (7-8 overall) took both matches against the Northwestern Wolves (6-11) of Grande Prairie. Lakeland prevailed 3-1 (25-14, 25-13, 22-25 and 25-11) on Saturday afternoon and 3-0 (25-21, 25-11 and 25-14) on Friday night.
In the fight for the fourth and final playoff position, the Rustlers and Edmonton’s Concordia Thunder (also 7-8) are tied in points. Also in contention for that final spot is sixth-place Northwestern (6-11), which is just two points behind Lakeland and Concordia but has just two matches remaining.
Nitty-gritty volleyball is anticipated for the final two weekends of the Alberta conference regular season.
“Yeah, it’s kind of (been) do or die, I would say, this semester,” said the Rustlers’ Bates, a league standout. “Which is sad, but it lights a fire under (us), for sure, every game that we play. So, I’m excited to see what this group can do this year.”
This weekend, Lakeland goes up against the North-leading Augustana Vikings (11-2) in a home-and-home series, with 6 p.m. starts in Camrose on Friday and Lloydminster on Saturday.
The Rustlers face another worthy opponent on the following weekend in the second-place NAIT Ooks
(10-3), with matches Feb. 13 in Edmonton and Feb. 14 in Lloyd.
“We’ve just got to show up and do the best we can with every match that we have left, and hopefully the chips are going to fall our way,” Dyer said.
“We play Augustana, and then NAIT, and they’re currently the top two teams in the North, so we’re going to have good competition. We’re going to have our work cut out for us. Hopefully, we can keep playing at a high level.”
As always, the Rustlers can count on savvy leadership from the likes of the three seniors honoured last Saturday after the series sweep over Northwestern.
As he did during the post-match ceremony, Dyer commented on each of those three education students completing their final seasons with the Rustlers, highlighting their valuable contributions to the program:
Emma Jeffs
“Emma came to us from Peace River (Alta.). I just happened to find her at a volleyball camp that I was running one summer. We needed a player to fill the roster, and she could jump. I wondered what I might be able to develop her into. She came and she’s worked her tail off for five years. The first couple of years, she needed a lot of time to develop and learn the game and make her skills a little bit better. We found a role for her to contribute and help us be successful. By her fourth year, she ended up being a starting middle for us. She was part of our three national championships in a row, including two as a starter.”
Seanna Trumier
“Seanna is from Prince Albert (Sask.). Again, a COVID recruit that I just saw videos on (because) I wasn’t allowed to go watch players at that time. A coach colleague of mine recommended that she’s a player that I would probably want to take. I just went on a whim, and she showed up. She ended up having a lot of tools and a lot of skill. Very athletic and very strong. Her first year, she needed to learn and develop, and found her way onto the floor a bit that year. From
Year 2 through Year 5, she’s been our starting libero all four of those years. She’s going to finish second
all-time in kills per set ever as a Rustler. A very big part of the three national championships that we’ve won in a row. She’s been a calming influence all the time.”
Avery Bates
“Avery came to us (from Acme, Alta.) the year of COVID, where we got shut down. That was her very first post-secondary experience, so we’re very fortunate that she stuck it out and wanted to continue. A lot of athletes quit because of COVID. She kept playing and started all five years, which doesn’t happen very often. She’s a very special talent — a dominant attacker, an explosive and feared blocker in our league. All the stats speak for themselves. She may finish the year as our top kills per set Rustler of all-time. As an outside, finishing third or fourth all-time in blocks per set, a very big feat. She’s one of the biggest reasons for the run that we’ve had the last five years. One of our go-to players through it all.”
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