Believe it or not, the regular season for Lake Region State College volleyball is already complete.
The Royals finished with a 13-20 overall record, and went just 2-10 in conference matches. That put them sixth out of seven teams in the Mon-Dak Athletic Conference, with an equal conference record but a better overall record than Dakota College at Bottineau.
A step down from the last two seasons
Though there were some positives to take away from the season, it was a step down, record-wise, from where the Royals were the last couple of years.
They entered this fall coming off a solid 2023-24 campaign where they went 19-17 overall and 6-6 in conference play. The season ended with a playoff loss to North Dakota State College of Science, a typical powerhouse in the Mon-Dak.
The year prior, the Royals were even better. Though their conference record was the same at 6-6, their overall record was 24-13. They hosted and won a playoff game before losing in the second round to, yet again, NDSCS.
That 2022-23 season was the second-best in the 11-year history of the LRSC volleyball program. The only one better was a 25-13 (8-4) record in the 2018-19 campaign. Though the Royals haven’t quite been able to maintain that success — given the two-year nature of JUCO, with players constantly funneling in and out — they’ve still managed to become a competitive program with high expectations each year.
So this season was a marginal step backwards.
“We were slightly down,” LRSC head coach Steve Waddell said. “We had to fill some gaps here. We lost some big players, too, from last season, that we had to try and fill their spots.”
Prime among those losses were right side hitter Desidy Schwanke and libero Bailey Munson, both sophomores who graduated last year. Schwanke had easily the most kills on the team last year with 3.89 per set. Munson had the most digs, with 5.69 per set. The team overall had 10.81 kills and 19.41 digs per set — those numbers were down to 9.66 and 17.23, respectively, this season.
Standouts from this year’s team
But, in the absence of last year’s leaders, the Royals did have some players step up this year to keep them afloat.
Breanna Vosberg, who had the second-most kills on the team last season as a freshman, became LRSC’s most productive hitter. She led the team in kills for the majority of the season. Her production waned slightly at the end of the season, but she still led the team with just over two kills per set.
Squeezing ahead of her in total kills was Lexie Shearer, who played especially well down the stretch and reached double-digit kills on numerous occasions. Shearer is only a freshman, but she proved immensely valuable as the team’s second-best offensive player. Her 2.5 points per set narrowly trailed Vosberg’s 2.8. She was also one of just two players who appeared in all 33 matches for LRSC, along with freshman Leah Jacobson.
“I just love how much she’s improved from the beginning of the season until now,” Waddell said. “It’s just so fun to see.”
Shearer ranked fifth in the entire Mon-Dak in total kills, while Vosberg was tied for sixth. Sophomore Sienna Gudnason was an important piece, too, finishing ninth in the Mon-Dak in kills. She became more of an offensive player this season after playing a defense-heavy game last year.
Sophomore Halle Jabs stepped up the most on defense. She was a key piece of last year’s team too, with 2.16 digs per set while appearing in 35 matches, but she took a more central role this season as the primary libero in the wake of Munson’s departure. Her 3.77 digs per set this year led the team and ranked fifth in the Mon-Dak. Hannah Thiel and Rylee Hanlan were also up around three digs per set.
The Royals won five of their final seven matches to end the regular season. It helped offset a 10-game losing streak back in late August and early September.
“I think we figured it out as we went,” Waddell said. “It took us a little bit longer than I would like, but I think right now, we’re playing our best volleyball, which is what we need to do. At the end of the season, we want to be at our best, and that’s where we’re at. And I’m happy.”
Regardless of how far the Royals do or don’t make it in the playoffs, Waddell said this was a team he enjoyed coaching and working with. Whether on a winning or losing streak, the team always brought energy and excitement to every match and practice.
“This is a really special group. They’re all just super nice kids,” Waddell said. “I really like being around them. I think they’re all just really kind-hearted people, and they want what’s best for the program. And they’ll do whatever it takes. So that’s the biggest thing. They work, and they want to get better, and every one of them is better now than they were when they got here. And that’s a testament to them. They just worked hard and did everything that we asked them to. And that’s the biggest thing I’ll remember, is just their willingness to learn and do whatever’s best for the program.”
