Rustlers Recap 2026: Women's Volleyball
Record:
Regular season: The Rustlers went 11-8, finishing 4th in the North Division.
Playoff Finish:
Gold: For the fourth straight season, Lakeland won six straight playoff matches to capture the ACAC and CCAA titles.
All-Stars:
Five: Raegan Nicol and Katelyn Mazurkewich were tournament All-Stars at the ACAC Championship in Camrose. Mazurkewich, Seanna Trumier and Olivia Dedecker were tournament All-Stars at the CCAA Championship in Otterburne, Manitoba. Avery Bates was the MVP of both championships.
Team Awards:
Unsung Hero: Mya Lavallee
Most Improved: Taylor Bugg
Rustler Award: Seanna Trumier
MVP: Avery Bates
Graduating Athletes:
Three: Emma Jeffs, Seanna Trumier and Avery Bates each completed their fifth and final season at Lakeland. Taylor Bugg and libero Shaya Lanigan are transferring to other schools, while first year middle Emerson Lawless will be rehabbing a late season injury this season.
Year in Review:
Women's volleyball made history in what might be the most challenging of five national championships won by the program.
The Rustlers had won 11 straight matches by the time February arrived, capped by defeating the top two seeds in the North Division. Third year outside hitter Carly Hawryluk quickly became one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league, while Bates continued to play at her MVP level and third year middle Nicol took another leap as one of the best in the CCAA at her position.
When they got to the ACAC Championship, the Rustlers faced their toughest test of this four-year run, nearly blowing a 2-0 lead to the top ranked South Division squad, the RDP Queens. Trailing late in the fifth set, the team needed Bates to bring out her best to survive the match, which they followed with a pair of sweeps over the Ooks and the host Vikings in the semifinals and finals.
At the CCAA tournament in Manitoba, Lakeland had a relatively breezy time in the first two rounds, but faced another big test in the Eduard Monpetit Lynx. Trailing after the first set and then trailing 20-16 in the third, the Rustlers dug deep to take the match in four sets, becoming the fourth women's volleyball program to win four straight CCAA titles, after Vancouver Island University (2018-2022), F.X. Garneau (2000-2003) and Sherbrooke (1985-1988).
Head coach Austin Dyer was effusive in his praise of this year's group.
"The resiliency and perseverance that my team showed throughout this season was incredible," he said. "They stuck together through adversity and became closer and tighter as a team. This showed at the end of our season with how they played [together so cohesively]."
Losing Bates, Trumier and Jeffs will have an impact, especially with Bates having dominated on the right-side for at least three seasons now, but the Rustlers will have another squad capable of chasing greatness. The rest of the starting lineup returns, the returning athletes are all third/fourth/fifth year veterans and there are several new recruits coming into the program that are very promising, including Vermilion's Keyonna Walker. The program will also take on transfer Amryne Duncalfe from Memorial University and welcome back Sarah Hogue, who last played for Lakeland in 2024 and has been on the sideline with the coaching staff for two years.
Several members of the team are training in Lloydminster this summer on the beach courts, while the group will be back together in Lloydminster just after mid-August to coach summer camps. The regular season will kick off in late October.