The 2022 Oswego State volleyball season is coming to an end. After an 11-match win streak, the Lakers have lost two straight contests to conference opponents SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Brockport. 

   With only four matches remaining in the season the Lakers hold a 15-8 record and sit in fifth in SUNYAC standings with a conference record of 4-3. 

   Oswego State was on the road for a SUNYAC match against Brockport on Oct. 7. The first set had seven lead changes and 14 tied scores. The Golden Eagles went on a big run and took a 13-7 lead, but after a timeout, the Lakers were able to win four straight points and soon grab a set point. The Golden Eagles tied the set at 24 and ended up winning 28-26, taking a 1-0 lead. 

   The Lakers came out hot in the second set as they built a five-point lead and took a 20-15 lead. The Golden Eagles rallied back and finished the set on a 10-1 run to capture the second set 25-21. Brockport continued their momentum from coming from behind in the first two sets to take an early 12-6 lead in the third set. The Lakers could not rally back and Brockport went on to win the third set 25-18 and take the match 3-0. 

   The Lakers kept it close on the stat sheet as they tied Brockport in kills with 35 and had a hitting percentage of .110 compared to .148. The Golden Eagles did have more aces (7-2) and blocks (8-3) than Oswego State. Senior Sydney Chiffriller led the team in kills with nine. Senior McKenna Corbin had 33 out of the Lakers 34 assists and also led the team in digs with 12. Head coach Toby Rens said Corbin has been an impressive player so far this season.

  “She’s a very driven competitor and sets the tone for our team the way she lays it on the line every day in practice,” said Rens. “There is not a ball she can’t get because she is so quick, aggressive and willing to sacrifice herself for the team.”

    Corbin leads the team as well as the SUNYAC with 655 assists. She also has 194 digs, 19 kills and a hitting percentage of .189 on the season. 

 After their loss to Brockport, the Lakers continued their road trip to face a 7-9 SUNY Geneseo team on Oct. 8. The Lakers struggled early in the first set with three straight errors. They held a 14-12 lead but ended up losing the first set 25-23. The Knights took the second set as well 25-18. The Lakers put the first two sets behind them and were able to gain some momentum in the match as they took the third set 25-20 and the fourth set 25-22. The match would need a fifth set and despite having all the momentum, Oswego State would not be able to complete the comeback as they lost the last set 15-9 giving SUNY Geneseo a 3-2 match win. The Lakers had three attacking errors in the final set and a total of 31 throughout the whole match. 

  Despite the loss, some Laker players still had a big game against the Knights. Cara Simplicio had 15 kills which gives her 216 on the season and puts her third in the SUNYAC. Libero Ally Natale had 14 digs and Emily Zeisler had 13 digs. 

  After the two tough losses, Rens said he knows what to work on with his team. 

“We were on the road in a different environment than being at home,” Rens said. “We need to improve on defending the middle hitter attack, the quick attack and our serve receive.” 

   Rens has his team averaging 10.8 kills and 36.4 assists per set with a .204 hitting percentage. On the defensive side, the Lakers average 55 digs a match and 1.9 blocks per set. In their next match, the Lakers will face SUNY Poly at 6 p.m, Oct. 18 at Max Ziel Gymnasium. The Lakers will look to grab their 16th win of the season and extend their home record to 9-0.

Image via Jim Gemza