The Oswego State volleyball team put on a show for the Lakers faithful in 2022, doing a complete 180 from their performance during the 2021 season.

The Lakers began their season with a record of 4-6 before exploding onto the scene and going on an 11-game winning streak. They ended their season with a record of 17-11 and a conference record of 5-4, a huge jump compared to last year, where the Lakers ended with a record of 12-14 and a conference record of 1-8.  They have seemed to completely turn around their conference woes of the year prior.  

None of this would have happened if it were not for the seniors of this team.  When the 2023 season begins, Toby Rens will be down five players from his 2022 squad. The team’s biggest loss is star setter McKenna Corbin, who led the SUNYAC conference with an outstanding 792 assists on the season. Key players like Emma Fiorentine, Sydney Chiffriller and Ally Natale also made massive contributions to the team.  Fiorentine was third on the team in kills with 205 on the year, she also was fourth on the team in blocks with 39 on the year. Chiffriller was fourth on the team in kills with 194 on the year, and she was also fifth on the year in blocks with 28. The libero Ally Natale was fantastic on defense, leading the team in digs with 277 on the year, she also was third on the team in assists with 47.

There is still a lot to look forward to on this team, with players like Cara Simplicio, Georgia Farry, Grace Taylor, Emily Zeisler and Kaylee Troy all returning for next year’s season.  Simplicio led the team in kills this year with 245, with Farry right behind her with 211 on the year. Farry was also second on the team in blocks with 64, while Taylor led the team in that department with 81 on the year. Zeisler led the team in aces with 66 on the year, she was also fifth on the team in digs with 185. Troy was second on the team in digs with 244 on the year. 

Oswego State was an offensive powerhouse this year, outscoring their opponents in kills with 1111 to 933. They also dominated in the assist category with 993 to their opponents’ 826. This is significantly better than the Lakers’ 2021 season, where they only had 933 kills and 865 assists. These statistics on the season make a compelling case for Oswego continuing to improve exponentially through the years. 

Oswego State also improved altogether when it came to defense. The Lakers ended the year with a total 1476 digs, this shows improvement from 2021 season as they ended their season with a total of 1339 digs. The Lakers also improved statistically in the blocking category, with 182 blocks on the year.  In 2021, the Lakers ended their season with 130 blocks on the year.  

Their statistics in conference were in the middle of the pack, as the Lakers were fourth in conference in kills per set with 11.44, hitting percentage with .186 and assists per set with 10.22.  This does show improvement from last year in conference as the Lakers were seventh in kills per set with 9.61, ninth in percentage with .087 and seventh in assists per set 8.79 in 2021.  

Two years ago the Lakers missed the playoffs, now they are right back in the fight in the SUNYAC conference. The Lakers hope to develop their chemistry even further and build on the positives from the season to come back better than ever next season.

Photo provided by: Jim Gemza