Ladyjack volleyball team off to a great start
Dan McClelland
by Dick Sterling
The 2023 Tupper Lake Ladyjack volleyball team has gotten off to a great start. The team, in its first few games of the season have nearly matched last year’s win total.
Head Coach Courtney Bennett says that the girl’s familiarity with each other, and hard work have helped to make them a much better team. “We’ve really worked on pushing, working hard and playing together. These girls play in the summer, a lot of them play club ball and attend various volleyball camps. They’ve put in the work, and it really does make a difference,” said Coach Bennett, who has headed the varsity program for three years, but who has been in the Tupper Lake volleyball system for nine years after coaching at both the modified and junior varsity level.
Coach Bennett and her assistant coach, April McClain, have been with the varsity players for years. “The girls are more and more aware of the players around them as well as the coaches, what we expect and how to keep improving. We’re well on our way to matching last year’s win total,” said Coach Bennett.
Last year the Ladyjacks finished the season with an overall record of 4-14. This season they won their first three matches, beating Brushton-Moira 3-0 on Sep. 7; downing Northern Adirondack 3-1 on Sept. 9 and then beating Lake Placid 3-1 on Sep. 11.
Tupper then dropped two league matches, losing to a tough Chateaugay team 3-1 on Sep. 12, and losing a 3-1 decision to Malone on Sep. 14. Against Malone The Ladyjacks won the opening game 25-19. They scored the first five points of the game with senior Rebecca Becker serving, Tupper built a big lead and then fought off a Lady Husky comeback attempt. Malone won the final three games 25-15, 25-18 and 25-15.
Tupper Lake will compete in Class C this year along with Canton and Brushton-Moira. Class D schools are Clifton-Fine, Chateaugay and Madrid-Waddington; Class B schools are Gouverneur, Potsdam, Ogdensburg and Salmon River and Malone, Massena and Indian River will compete in Class A. Indian River will join the Northern Athletic Conference for the first year after competing in the Frontier League, which offers volleyball in the winter, for the first time this year.
The Ladyjacks first six includes four seniors in Rebecca Becker, Liza Crouse, Laci Duhaime and co-captain Rachel Sorensen and juniors Emma Brown and co-captain Kendall Kenniston. “We rely a lot on our starters,” said Coach Bennett. “They are mentally prepared, know what to expect from each other and are very prepared to play together. We get a lot of girls into every match, but heavily rely on our first six,” said the Tupper Lake coach.
Other girls on the 2023 roster include seniors Shae Arsenault, Emma Daniels, Jordis Joanette and Aubrey Sparks; juniors Mary Becker, Addison Brown, Josalynn Hart and Nevaeh Toohey and freshman Lacey Tarbox.
Coach Bennett is pleased with her team’s play at the start of the season. “We started off the season 3-0, and had two hard fought losses to end the week. We beat Brushton-Moira, NAC, and Lake Placid. Our girls served strong and made it difficult for other teams to serve receive. They had great intensity, perseverance and grit. Their teamwork and ability to work to overcome deficits is what made them so successful. Setter Rebecca Becker, hustled and made some great scrappy plays to give us some momentum. Rachel Sorensen, outside hitter, made some great defensive plays and had strong coverage for us all over the court. Our middle hitters, Liza Crouse and Emma Daniels, had some big blocks over the course of the five games that gave us some defensive confidence. Our other hitters, Kendall Kenniston and Laci Duhaime, have made really great decisions at the net, and defensively.”
She has also been pleased with the players subbing for the first six, “Our bench has been a big piece of our success this first chunk of the season. They bring energy and a spark off the bench when we need them. Seniors Shae Arsenault and Aubrey Sparks have stepped in when their names have been called both defensively and at the net. Junior Josalynn Hart stepped up big for us in a new role, served us out of some holes, and gave us a defensive spark when we needed it. Addie Brown has gotten a few kills out of the middle to help us push through, and Nevaeh Toohey made some great plays as well. Freshman Lacey Tarbox, served us out of a big hole this season and has continued to improve and make her presence known on the court offensively,” said Coach Bennett.
“We had some tough losses to two very good Chateaugay and Malone teams. But we are going to use them as learning experiences and make adjustments and continue to grow as a group. They've responded individually and as a group and are ready to see some more successes in the upcoming weeks. We are so proud of this group and their hard work and dedication. They've continued to work, adjust and meet our expectations and we're looking forward to the remainder of the season,” concluded Coach Bennett.
The Ladyjacks are home today (Wednesday) against Salmon River and travel to Clifton-Fine on Friday.