SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Lake Superior State (LSSU) Lakers who were projected to finish 9th in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) (27 pts), as voted on by the league’s head coaches, are set to embark on their 2024 campaign on Thursday, Sept. 5 for their opening game at the Steel City Showcase at Colorado State-Pueblo prior to their home-opener against Saginaw Valley State on Sept. 19.
“We are really excited,” said LSSU Head Coach Zac Rambo. “We have a lot of returners coming back. We did lose a lot of key pieces from last year, but our big offensive weapon, Mariana Velasque (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is back. We have two setters we are excited about that have been waiting, and we brought in some really big pieces that will allow us to score on both pins and in the middle.”
The 2024 Laker roster is headlined by All-GLIAC First Teamer, Velasque, who enters the final season of her career. Velasque led the GLIAC in kills at the end of the regular season, and her 403 kills a year ago are the fifth most in a single season in program history.
“[Velasque] is one of the most intelligent volleyball players that I have ever met. She has the big arm that can score points, but when she is using her brain, going after it, and really picking her spots, she is really exciting to watch,” said Rambo.
The Lakers will be without four key contributors that were lost to graduation in experienced defensive players Emily Hagelthorn and Sydney Briney, starting middle hitter Emilee McDaniel, and one of the top setters in program history in Emily Kalinowski who finished her career ranked 4th in assists with 2468.
“We are sad that [Kalinowski] has [graduated], but she had a really big mentoring piece over the last two years with the two young ladies that are about to take over for her role,” said Rambo. “What she did for us, we will miss it, but I think both she and the coaching staff did a really good job preparing our upcoming setters to be able to produce at a high level and get the ball to the young ladies that need to get the ball.”
Coach Rambo will be looking for some of his returners to step into larger roles to fill the void, including sophomore middle hitter Morgan Deming (Boyne City, Mich.) who finished her freshman season third on the team in both kills (134) and blocks (52) while primarily playing behind McDaniel, earning her the female Terry McDermott Award as the LSSU Athletic Department’s top female first year student-athlete.
“[Deming] got a lot of playing time last year because of injuries, and I am hoping that will allow her to step into [McDaniel’s] role and produce really seamlessly.”
Also looking to have a breakout season will be outside hitters Rachel Steele (Eaton Rapids, Mich.) and Valeriya Varnakova (Ufa, Russia).
“Both [Steele and Varnakova] got a ton of playing time last year, but they could not find a consistent role,” said Rambo. “They would play really well for two or three matches and then struggle for two or three matches, so they were kind of in limbo all the time. This year, I am excited to watch one of them settle into a job where they can really prosper and do a lot of good things for us.”
The Lakers open the season on Thursday, Sept. 5 at the Steel City Showcase in Pueblo, Colo.
Click here to watch the full interview with Head Coach Zac Rambo.
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