Volleyball Season Recap
Although the season brought a lot of unexpected changes, the Lions volleyball team was fortunate enough to compete for the Fall 2020 season.
The Lions started their season at the Spikefest Tournament in Ankeny, IA where they were able to come home with a 5-set win against Oak Hills Christian College. This led into their homecoming match the following week where they beat Faith Baptist Bible College, another regional team, 3-2.
Following the homecoming week, the Lions' schedule saw many cancellations due to the quarantining of different teams. When their schedule resumed, they were unable to come out with a victory for a few matches. However, the Lions finished the regular season with a home court win against Oak Hills Christian College, 3-1.
Going into the NCCAA Regional Tournament, the Lions, #5 seed, were matched up to play Maranatha Baptist University, #1 seed. Although they had a great match, they were unable to get a win over the higher ranked team. The Lions had two athletes, Layce Kooima and Stacia West, who were named 2nd Team All-Region at the Regional Tournament.
It was sophomore outside hitter, Stacia West, who led the team in offensive kills. She finished the season with 143 total kills, averaging 3.04 kills per set. West was followed by Sadi Deplazes, a senior, with 64 total kills. Layce Kooima, freshman setter, led the team in assists with 251 total and an average of 5.34 per set. Kooima also led the team in digs, finishing the year with an average of 3.30 digs per set. It was senior Katie VanderEide who had the most service aces for the season with 26.
Coach Petersen had this to say about the season, "I could not have asked for a better group of ladies to walk through the 2020 season with. Through match cancellations, reschedules upon reschedules, quarantine and extended quarantines… these ladies exemplified what it means to be positive and persevere through the most difficult of circumstances. I could not be more proud with how this team handled the obstacles of 2020. We saw a lot of success during the season, but more than that, we saw the excellent character of this team. That is what will be remembered most when we look back on the 2020 season."
