Volleyballers seek to continue success

By Joey Schwindt
Sports Writer

Volleyball season is upon us and the LCC Stars are fired up as they begin the new campaign.

The Stars are coming off of an impressive 2023 season in which they boasted a match record of 30-5 while winning the MCCAA West Division and a district championship along the way.

In addition, they advanced to the NJCAA Division 2 Volleyball National Championship tournament before being bounced out in the first round.

The team will look to build off of that impressive year and do more of the same this season.

“Their goals for the season are to be top in the conference and make an appearance again at nationals; but instead of just the big picture, they want to develop a good rapport with each other as a team,” LCC Head Coach Emily Quintero said.

“They have a lot more mental toughness in them than what they think. As they buy into our program they are going to really live, breathe it and find a lot of success.”

Improvement is another thing all the players are focusing on throughout the season.

“As time progresses you can tell we have started to put it together and drills are getting done faster,” sophomore striker Karsyn Near said.

LCC has 12 players on its roster with a fairly even mix of freshman and sophomores. There are five returners and seven newcomers.

Returning to the squad are Near, an All American Honorable Mention last season, along with Vivian Schneider, Anna Hoch, Katelynn Davis and Reese Michalski.

Newcomers include Caroline Hengesbach, Callie Clark, Katie Comstock, Jaylee Pitchford, Jasmine Reemsnyder, Bella Strieff and Christina Williams.

Team camaraderie is a main goal for this squad going into and throughout the season.

 “It’s really nice to have the team around you, working toward something,” sophomore striker Schneider said.

Activities to promote bonding have taken place in the offseason to get everyone on the same page before practice starts. One of the events used to do this is the LCC hosted A-Plus Camp, in which Stars’ players help run it.

“It’s working with fifth graders to 12th graders during our camp July 29 through Aug. 1 and that’s the initial (time) everyone comes in and are working together,” Quintero said.

Stars volleyball already commenced play over the weekend in Rockford, Ill., in an Opening Weekend Tournament. LCC played a total of four matches in two days, going 2-2 overall.

The wins came against Harper College and Neosho Valley Community College, respectively. The losses were to Moraine Valley Community College and Sauk Valley Community College.

In addition, LCC also competed on Wednesday at St. Clair Community College in the SC4 Tournament. The Stars went 1-1 for the day, with a 3-2 win against St. Clair Community College and a 3-0 loss to Owens Community College.

This brings the Stars’ record to 3-3 to start the season. LCC will be in action again this weekend, as it travels to Owens Community College in Ohio to compete in the Owens Invitational Tournament.