Last fall was more of the same outstanding success for the Lansing volleyball team. The Bobcats captured its fourth Section IV title in five years and made it to Glens Falls for the state final four for the third time in that span. With exactly half of the roster graduating, the Bobcats’ mixture of experience and new talent have resulted in another stellar start.
The Bobcats are 5-1 in IAC play, as of September 28. They’ve also taken part in multiple tournaments in Corning, Victor and West Genesee. Like in previous years, these tests against larger schools are exactly what they want to endure in order to improve.
“We’re really using our tournaments to look for tough competition to make ourselves better,” said head coach Nicole Lamie. “It shows us what we have to work on and keep pushing towards in practice so when we come back to our IAC games, we can really make sure that we’re striving to achieve those goals.”
That doesn’t mean their IAC opponents are no pushovers. The Bobcats’ lone defeat came against rivals Trumansburg in three sets. But they bounced back to sweep Whitney Point, exacting a bit of revenge after losing to the Golden Eagles in back-to-back IAC championship matches. Lamie has noticed the level of play this year in the league is particularly challenging.
“There have been lots of long rallies,” Lamie said. “There are a lot of great volleys. There are a lot of great saves. Whether it’s fans in the stands, whether it’s parents, the whole gym seems to get in the long rallies. At the end of those long rallies, I have to give it up to both teams, no matter who got the point. Both teams are working hard. Both teams are rallying and just really being fearless.”
The Bobcats bring back nine of their 18 players and add six newcomers. The biggest thing that stands out is a large, nine-player cohort of juniors. It’s a different identity from last year’s senior-heavy squad, but the chemistry is as strong as ever.
“They just are really good friends in school,” Lamie said. “It’s like a core group of friends that are volleyball players. Everyone is meshing really well. There are definitely some leaders that stepped. There’s definitely lots of loud cheering and support. They truly are just a really fun group. They’re laughing all the time, but they also are so focused.”
While the Bobcats graduated all four of their All-State selections—Jordan Brinkley (now playing at Johnson & Wales University), Kam Eastman (Finger Lakes Community College), Piper Mason (Hilbert College), and Kendyll Hathorn—their nine retained players have stepped up in multiple ways.
“I definitely think the returners are taking leads, especially when we talk about defense or serve-receives. The juniors saw stuff in previous years that the older girls did, and they now want to try to do those things. They’re really putting themselves out there. A lot of times in games, I’ll see somebody running like a slide, and I’m like, ‘Wait a second, we didn’t run that in practice.’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, we’ve been talking about it.’ They’re building themselves up and they’re seeing what they can do. It’s actually really cool to see the juniors come into their own.”
Another key player that the Bobcats graduated was setter Leliani Drake, who racked up over 1,000 career assists. Junior Alyssa Johnston remains as one of their three primary setters, while the junior Ava Kobylarz and freshman Alia Kobylarz have featured in that role this year.
In terms of the attack, Brinkley was their go-to player in that regard with over 1,000 career kills. Multiple players have collectively replicated that production, including the Kobylarz sisters, seniors Izzy Wilder, Violet Tracy and Maddie Heck, and juniors Isis Peters and Emily Lombardi.
On defense, senior Chloe Case leads the way as the Bobcats’ libero.
“Chloe has been very steady in her play,” Lamie said. “We always talk about defense being [about] stopping and seeing what the other team is doing before we react. Last year, we got killed quite a few times on tips. This year, it feels different. Chloe’s doing a great job trying to read early, not necessarily looking at the ball, but looking at the opposing athletes. She has been doing a great job picking up the tips.”
The Bobcats are primed for another stellar season. But with over half of the season still to play, they understand that they can’t look too far ahead.
“It’s one serve at a time. It’s one point at a time,” Lamie said. “Every serve, whether we’re serving or the other team’s serving, it allows us to reset. It doesn’t matter what happened in the last game. We’re going to learn from it. But all that doesn’t matter anymore. It’s the next ball. It’s the next game. It’s the next point… It’s still early, and we’re going to just keep pushing. That way, when it comes time, we’re prepared, and we’re going to get it when it counts.”
