The last time Melissa Lussier took the volleyball court for Oswego State was Nov. 5. The Lakers do not know when they will take the court again, but that has not stopped the senior from trying to come back as their leading points scorer for another season.
When Lussier took the court for the first round of the SUNYAC playoffs vs. SUNY Cortland that Tuesday night, almost 10 months ago, she brought a performance which was one of the best she has ever had. Even as the lower seed in the No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed matchup, Lussier recorded a season-high 15 kills. When the game was over and SUNY Cortland advanced to the next round in straight sets, Lussier finished with 17.5 points. That was over 10 more than the second-leading scorer for the Lakers that night. A performance leaving high expectations for a senior season that, at the time, was still expected to be business as usual.
This volleyball season, just as the case with all other Oswego State sports slated to be played before Jan. 1, is on hiatus. Still, Lussier is training to take the court again for the Lakers.
“I am hoping and praying we will have a season,” Lussier said. “Whether it is in the spring, in the winter, I will play any time of the year if we can have anything.”
Lussier was expected to be dominant this fall after a season where she led the team in points, kills and aces. As a junior, she was able to improve in all three of those categories from her sophomore campaign by a considerable margin. The most impressive jumps were due to increased playing time, and included an increase of 30 serving aces and 78.5 points. Oswego State volleyball head coach J.J. O’Connell believes that the jumps in statistical performance were due to Lussier’s conditioning over the offseason, leading to the ability to get to spots on the court that in the past would not have been scoring opportunities for her.
“Her and Shauna [O’Flaherty] worked really hard over the summer,” O’Connell said. “They both killed it, physically. They were so much improved physically that it just opened up so many more options for them.”
An interesting wrinkle to Lussier’s volleyball story is the friendship she has with former teammate and now-volunteer assistant coach O’Flaherty. The two played multiple seasons together at Walter Panas High School in Cortland Manor. Following O’Flaherty’s freshman year at the University of Albany, the pair reunited at Oswego State just in time for Lussier’s freshman season. The two have trained together in the offseason, and it will be different not seeing both of them on the court at the same time. O’Flaherty has high expectations watching Lussier from the sidelines
“Just given the circumstance that she is in,” O’Flaherty said. “I cannot imagine not playing a senior year. So, when the opportunity arises, [when] she can step on the court, she always gives her all but I expect her to go above and beyond. Just to have the chance to play.”
Lussier has had great success at Oswego State, but she also knows how it feels to be a champion. Her senior season at Walter Panas resulted in an New York State Public High School Athletic Association State Championship, the first state championship at that school for any sport. O’Flaherty was in attendance watching Lussier that day in the Glens Falls Civic Center, so it might not be so strange for her to watch Lussier on the court again if a season is played during the spring semester.
Lussier is a player who has been able to improve her statistics year after year as a Laker. Given the opportunity in 2021, she will take the chance to do just the same on the court again. In her volleyball career, this is the longest stretch she has gone without competitively touching a volleyball.
“It always went high school and then club [volleyball] which went all winter. So honestly, I think this is the longest I have ever gone,” Lussier said. “I definitely am nervous for the first time I have to touch a ball again.”
Lussier is held in high regard by her coach, who has goals for her to carry the team to success if the opportunity is presented to do so again. After placing Third-team All-SUNYAC last November, there still room for improvement in his opinion.
“We always like to make the SUNYAC tournament,” O’Connell said. “For her individually I’d like to see her get first-team All-SUNYAC and be in the mix for All-Regional.”
Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian
