Tompkins Weekly

Lansing volleyball reaching potential



Lansing libero Jolene Gunther hits the ball during last week’s victory over Trumansburg. It was just the second time since 2012 that Lansing defeated the Blue Raiders. Photo by John Brehm.

Lansing volleyball has been a program on the rise for several years, having just one losing season since 2015. This year, the Bobcats look like a team that can make a postseason run, starting the season 13-2 overall with an 8-0 record in league play. Those two losses came in tournament matches against Candor, the 2019 Class D state champion, and Class AA Corning.

Outside of those matches, the Bobcats have displayed dominance on the court. Out of 36 sets played in the month of September, Lansing won 31. On Sept. 30, the team’s success was put to the test on the road against perennial power Trumansburg. Lansing came out on top in an intense five-set match to hand Trumansburg its first loss in league play this season. Lansing head coach Nicole Lamie talked about the big victory.

“It meant the world to the girls,” Lamie said. “This is a rivalry that happens between us every year. In volleyball, I try to tell them one point at a time, one game at a time. But when we’ve had such a strong start to the season, the girls were looking forward to this game, right from the beginning.”

Not only is the team on a great run this season, but they’re doing so with only three seniors on a roster of 13 players. The future of the program looks bright after seven players graduated from the 7-2 team from last season.

“We didn’t know where we’d be because the season last spring was right around the corner from this season,” Lamie said. “The girls, all they did was talk and think volleyball all summer. The sophomores really prepared themselves, if they weren’t on my team last year, to be moved up. They are just ready for competition. They want to keep playing and they want to get better with every point and with every ball contact. They have this drive and they feed off of one another.”

Being able to compete and even outplay Trumansburg is a huge step for the Bobcats. Before taking one of three matches against Trumansburg in the shortened spring season, Lansing had not won a single match against its rival across the lake since 2012. Lamie discussed getting the program to this point.

“There are really no words to describe it,” Lamie said. “The last 18 months have been difficult for everybody. But having this group of girls and having put all this time in over the last however many years is so meaningful. It’s so exciting to come to practice every day. It gives you a little bit of hope that things will eventually return to normal. We’re lucky that we get this season this fall after everything that everyone’s been through. It’s hard to put it in words, but it is such a valuable time.”

The Bobcats have not had their backs against the wall many times this season, so to rally for a strong, game-winning fifth set after losing the third and fourth to Trumansburg truly showed what the team was made of.

“It’s a conversation that we have often,” Lamie said. “We played other teams this season, and we’ve [beaten] everybody in three sets. But that doesn’t mean that we were leading all three sets the whole time. They dig in deep. They forget about the last point. They look forward. They reset. They use each other. They build off of each other’s energy. They just keep going and they’re never satisfied.”

Due to the type of start the Bobcats have had this season, it’s hard to ignore their potential postseason success. While she’s not letting the team get ahead of themselves, Lamie knows what they’re capable of.

“We are definitely taking it a game at a time and taking it an opponent at a time,” she said. “We definitely don’t want to set limits on ourselves, though. Personally, I have taken Lansing teams to sectionals and taken Lansing teams to the tournament that they have when there’s only four teams remaining in sectionals. But they’re really looking ahead to the sectional finals to be honest and to IACs. Those are really close goals.”

This week, Lansing has the tough task of facing Corning in a full five-set match. The first time they met, it was in the finals of an early season tournament, with Corning coming out on top 30-25 in just one set.

“It’s great, in a way, to see the girls really spread their wings and really step up to the challenges,” Lamie said. “In practice, we could volley for such a long time. I can’t get a word in because they’re still playing and they’re going back and forth. They’re working hard and making each other better. When we do have the competition. It’s great to see the girls step up and come together.”

It’s a busy week for Lansing volleyball. After taking down Moravia on Monday, the Bobcats will host Dryden on Wednesday before traveling on Thursday for the important rematch against Corning, who went 10-2-1 in the first month of the season. With an undefeated record in league play this season, Lansing is becoming a true power in the sport of volleyball.

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