After just 10 days, the Oswego State volleyball team avenged its regular-season loss to The College at Brockport with a victory in the first round of the SUNYAC playoffs. The Lakers narrowly defeated the Golden Eagles in five sets after losing 3-0 in straight sets on Oct. 20.
The Lakers dropped the first set 25-21 despite tying it at 21 each. This was somewhat troublesome for head coach J.J. O’Connell, as the Lakers specifically worked on closing out the final seven or eight points of a set during practice after the first match against The College at Brockport.
“In the first set, it was 21-all with [the Golden Eagles],” O’Connell said. “But [it was] like the first match, where they scored the last four points, so I was like, ‘Oh man, here we go again.’”
Fortunately for the Lakers, they battled back in the second set and went on to win it 25-23. Entering the fourth set, the Lakers were down two sets to one after losing a blowout of a third set 25-9. Despite the tough loss, the Lakers were confident in their abilities and the team in its entirety.
“Our confidence [went up]. We knew we could beat them,” senior Alison Sullivan said. “They’re not some unstoppable team, and we wanted it more.”
Sullivan played well in the match, recording 12 kills, however, her blocking prowess was not necessarily on display, as she had only two blocking assists. Other Lakers stepped up mightily for Oswego State, like Lauren Fie and Melissa Lussier, who led the team with four and three solo blocks, respectively. Despite having a dominant postseason, recording 24 kills in the two matches, Lussier described it as a team effort.
“I felt like we all stepped up, noticing how it was do or die at that point,” said Lussier.
Despite the entire team effort, it was not enough to defeat the second seed, SUNY New Paltz. The Hawks defeated Oswego State 3-1 and went on to win the SUNYAC title. In the first set, Oswego State made quick work of SUNY New Paltz, winning 25-15. However, the second set turned the tides, as it was full of errors.
“In the second set, we had five service errors and a bunch of hitting errors. It was just us getting a little sloppy,” O’Connell said. “If we could’ve stayed on top of them to start the second, emotionally, I’m not sure they could’ve recovered…We had them where we wanted them and we let them get away. I think we could’ve easily won our conference.”
Even though the Lakers did not reach the SUNYAC finals, it was still an excellent season for the team. They eclipsed a .500 record for the first time in three seasons and achieved their goal of being a top-four team in the conference.
“I was really proud of this team. We had some adversity we fought through,” O’Connell said. “[We] hit a lot of our goals – be in the top four of the SUNYAC, have a winning record…We accomplished a lot with this team. Everyone contributed. We had a lot of players who hadn’t played a lot of minutes coming into the year who really did some nice things.”
Some of those players who stepped up include Shauna O’Flaherty and Lussier, a pair of players who O’Connell believes can step up next season and provide some offense. Of course, there are huge shoes to fill with several key contributors graduating. Aside from Sullivan, Alison Berger, Jessica Long and Ariana Wright will also leave Oswego State.
Sullivan will look back on her final season in the green and gold with found memories. Her name will remain in the record books for years to come, as her 439 career blocks shattered the previous blocking record of 327. She also was able to help her team to a huge victory against The College at Brockport, who won the SUNYAC title in three consecutive seasons.
“It was a really great year,” Sullivan said. “[I was] really happy with the year. Beating Brockport in five was awesome. Knocking out the reigning champs was a great thing, so it was a great senior year.”
While Sullivan was a dominant presence along the front line, Berger was quietly having herself a great season. She recorded 60 aces, which was 10th best in program history. But, aside from the accolades, Berger was an incredible leader whose energy and personality will be dearly missed.
“Berger is just, she’s going to be a tough piece to fill,” O’Connell said. “She’s kind of the glue that keeps us together, a really nice personality. Everyone likes Berger.”
Despite losing four great personalities and athletes, losses occur at the end of nearly every season in collegiate sports. O’Connell is still confident that, despite the holes these seniors will leave, the Lakers will be OK.
“I think we’ll adapt,” O’Connell said. “But it will be a challenge to replace some of the talent we are losing.”
Photo by Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian
