The Lake Region State College volleyball team brings in nine players this season, all of whom are freshmen.
It gives the Royals a roster of 15.
LRSC is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history, where it went 29-11 and made it to the Region XIII championship.
The Royals bring back some of their best offensive weapons and their best defensive player in Torri Fee, though they graduated their star setter in Sydney Schwabe.
Here’s a rundown of who’s joining the squad and who’s returning for head coach Steve Waddell’s seventh year at the helm.
Nine freshmen
The roster has a strong North Dakota flavor. Six of the nine freshmen are from in-state.
The Royals bring in a 5-foot-5 libero and defensive specialist in Raeleigh Ratzlaff. She was the lone senior on the state champion Langdon Area/Munich volleyball team last fall. Ratzlaff is a product of arguably the best Division B program in the state.
Sophia Beck also gives the team some local representation. Beck is from Lawton, N.D., and went to Lakota High School, where she played for Nelson County. She’s listed as 5-foot-6 and both a defensive specialist and opposite hitter.
Glenburn’s Sophie Cunningham, 5-foot-3, is another defensive specialist/libero joining the team. She also has extensive experience as a setter. Cunningham had 1,808 assists and 1,077 digs in her career for Glenburn. She was described in an LRSC press release as being a “scrappy defender” with “very high volleyball IQ.”
The North Dakota class features some offensive players, too.
Kenzie Neighbors, listed as being six feet tall, joins the Royals from Surrey, N.D. She amassed 999 career kills in high school (just one short of the coveted 1,000 mark) along with 1,112 digs. She’s listed as an outside hitter. Waddell referred to her as “dynamic” in a news release while noting her high potential.
Another six-footer, Cheryl Hayes, joins the team as a setter/opposite hitter. Hayes is playing both basketball and volleyball for the Royals. She was an all-state volleyball player in high school.
Rounding out the North Dakota class of freshmen is 5-foot-10 middle blocker Myia Knox. LRSC’s news release noted her value both offensively and defensively.
Of the three remaining freshmen, two are from Alberta, Canada.
Taylor Cyr, from Stavely, Alberta, is a 5-foot-10 middle blocker. LRSC notes that “she is the type of player who is eager to learn and grow in the sport, and she will push to fill one of our middle blocker roles that we lost to graduation this year.”
Eastyn Swennumson, a 5-foot-7 outside hitter, joins the Royals from Nanton, Alberta.
The final freshman is Lina Smith from neighboring Montana, more specifically the 164-person town of Richey. She’s a 5-foot-6 setter.
Returners
The Royals bring back a class of six players who were on that historic 2025 team.
Their top hitter last year, Kenmare native Anne Stroklund, is back. She led LRSC with 362 kills last season, second-most in the Mon-Dak.
They also return Madison Samuelson, whose season ended after 11 matches due to an injury. It’s easy to forget how good Samuelson was before she got hurt. She averaged 2.85 kills per set, which was actually a higher mark than Stroklund. Despite playing less than 30% of the team’s matches, she still ranked sixth on the team in kills.
Having two outside hitters like Stroklund and Samuelson should give the Royals some solid offensive firepower. They did lose some of their other best offensive players from last year like Katie Leece, Lexie Shearer and Kaitlyn Erickstad.
Returning setters Jorie Ahlberg and Hope Cross should help fill the hole left by Schwabe. Ahlberg was a standout setter for North Star High School up in Cando. She ranked fifth on the team in digs last year with 247. She’s listed as both a setter and defensive specialist. Cross, a Watford City native, only appeared in three sets across three matches last season.
On the defensive side, the Royals are set at the libero position with the Devils Lake local Fee. A two-sport athlete in volleyball and basketball, Fee had 709 digs last year. That was over 200 more than anyone in the Mon-Dak. She narrowly ranked second in the Mon-Dak in digs per set.
The final returner is another former North Star Bearcat, Anna Bessonova. The Ukraine native was a surprise addition to the roster shortly before last season started, as she wrapped up her high school credits sooner than expected. Bessonova, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker/opposite hitter, appeared in 12 sets across five matches last year and tallied 14 kills.
The Royals are hosting a scrimmage Wednesday, Aug. 12. They have an exhibition match on the road Friday, Aug. 14 against Mayville State JV. Their season officially starts with the Opening Weekend Tournament in Rockford, Ill., on Aug. 21 and 22. Their first home game is the following Tuesday, Aug. 25, against Trinity Bible.