LANCERS FOCUSED ON PROGRAM DEVELOPEMENT
The 2019-20 Loyalist College women's volleyball team competed in 18 matches during the 2019 season which led to the team getting back to playoffs after falling short in the 2018-19 season.
Loyalist started their season on a high note by beating the Centennial Colts 3-1. After defeating the Colts, the Lancers struggled as they dropped seven of the next eight games. Loyalist second win came against the Fleming Knights in a five-set thriller. After dropping the opening two sets to the Knights by a combined six points, the team rallied winning three consecutive sets (25-18, 25-23, 15-7) to earn the victory.
The Lancers improved in the second half of the season and finished with a 3-6 record. Loyalist best game in the second half came against the Centennial Colts, as it was an awesome 5 set thriller. In an almost carbon copy of their match against Fleming, the Lancers dropped the opening two sets to the Colts before team rallying to win three consecutive sets (25-22, 25-16, 15-6) to earn the victory. To conclude the regular season the Lancers secured the final playoff spot to ensure a crossover game.
The Lancers entered the OCAA postseason as the 8th seed in the OCAA east division, matching them up with the first seed in the OCAA west division, the 17-1 Fanshawe Falcons. The Falcons came out on top by securing the straight-set victory in the OCAA crossover playoff match.
" We played the eventual OCAA gold medalists, Fanshawe Falcons tough, despite being down 2 of our starting players and traveling with only 8 athletes total" Head Coach Ryan Stoness says of the post season. " After a rocky ½ of the season, we significantly upped our play with improvements made in the majority of our matches that showed significant improvement to overall plus/minus scores. Likewise, we improved in almost every statistical category in the 2nd half, specifically, hitting percentage, service aces, and total points."
Looking ahead, Coach Stoness is happy with the trajectory of his team. " Next season is already looking promising. We've had a successful recruiting campaign, confirming 6 club level athletes for next season and returning over ½ of our current players."