THUNDER BAY — The preseason has been all about trying to re-establish a winning culture around Lakehead’s women’s volleyball program.
It’s been 10 seasons since the team finished at .500 or better, the 2012-13 club winding up at 9-9 to grab the Thunderwolves most recent playoff spot.
Since then, Lakehead has gone 34-128 under a parade of coaches, including just six wins in 48 appearances the past three seasons.
Rookie coach Hayden Nichol, who came to the program after most recently coaching Alberta’s Keyano College Huskies, has led the Thunderwolves to impressive non-conference wins this fall over the likes of the Brandon Bobcats and Providence College, completing a weekend sweep of the Pilots on Sunday with a 3-1 triumph.
“We started off with a pretty tough schedule in Winnipeg, played against some tough Can West teams and walked away with some really quality wins for the program,” Nichol said. “Over the last couple of weeks, knocking Brandon and Providence off in all four matches was really good for us. With a program that is kind of on the way up in wins and losses, it’s good to see.
“And good for the girls too, to go into the season with that little bit of confidence and feeling strong about themselves.”
Nichol said it’s been a long 10 years or so since the program enjoyed any true success, adding it’ll be the team’s depth that helps them return along that path in 2023-24.
“We can roll a couple of different lineups out there. Both our setters are super capable and are going to be fighting for a lot of court time this season. We’ve got two very talented right sides who are both in their last year of school here at Lakehead who will be really trying to push to be on the court,” he said.
Oshawa’s Lauryn Langley, entering her fourth season with the Thunderwolves, said it’s been tough not winning a lot in her first two years with the team, but that comes with youth.
This year’s Lakehead squad has 10 players in their third season or more, which is going to play a major factor in the on-court improvements she expects to see.
“We’ve got about eight people that came in during my first year,” Langley said. “We’ve always been a younger team, but we’re all in fourth year now. We’re really excited to take the OUA by storm this year being an older team and show them what we’ve got to bring to the plate, what we’ve been building up for the last four years.”
Nichol said strategically speaking, he wants to implement a more reliable block defence system, and that each of his players knows their role and knows where they should be playing to be able to pick up as many balls as they can.
“In a few weeks here we’re going to have some very talented volleyball players are in the gym and we need to make sure all our systems are good to go,” Nichol said.
“Philosophically, we needed to build the confidence in this program a little bit. It’s been a program that’s been in the lower end of the standings for a little bit. That’s no secret to anybody. We’re looking to hit the ground running and see what we can do with this group, but also making sure we’re recruiting the right girls for the future.”
Nichol already has five new recruits committed for next season.
Lakehead opens on Nov. 10 against Guelph and has their home opener a week later against Toronto.
