A third-place finish and a bevy of postseason awards capped off a successful Region IX Tournament run and season for the Eastern Wyoming College volleyball team.
The Lancers, the third seed in the North, upset both 2-seeds on their way to the Northwest Plains B Championship game, where they fell to the top-seeded Central Wyoming College, the 11th-ranked team in the nation.
Eastern Wyoming finished 15-14 after winning seven of their last nine contests. The Lancers eliminated Lamar Community College, McCook Community College, Northwest College and the host Western Nebraska Cougars to finish 4-2 at the tournament.
"This was one of the greatest things I've ever been a part of," EWC head coach Dante Geoffrey said. "This season was not kind to us, we faced one form of adversity or another around every corner. And yet, when it was time to step up, this team did just that. I'm so proud of what they accomplished."
Four Lancers were recognized for their stellar play throughout the regular season and tournament.
Fatima Ramirez was named the Region IX-North Freshman of the Year. The freshman opposite finished the season with 2.11 kills/set and a .233 hitting percentage. Her highlights include a 10-kill, 1-error performance at Casper on Oct. 1, a 13-kill, .417% performance in a sweep of Casper of Oct. 22, and an 8-kill, 1-error, 3-block showing in a sweep of Laramie County on Oct. 29. The 6-foot, 1-inch attacker from Belize was also one of two Lancers to make the All-Region IX-North Team.
Makenna Reinert led the Lancers with 2.69 kills/set on her way to All-Region Team honors. The freshman opposite from Brighton, Colorado, hit .159% while earning .40 blocks/set and leading the Lancers with 2.9 points/set and 253 total kills. Reinert scored a season-high 18 kills and .455 hitting percentage in a five-set match at Laramie County on Oct. 8.
Ramirez and Reinert were two of only three freshmen to make the 15-player All-Region team.
"It's hard at our level to find one consistent attacking threat on the right side, we were spoiled to have two of them," Geoffrey said. "They provided balance to our offense and were a threat most teams weren't used to defending against
"If you look at the All-Region team, it's almost exclusively sophomores. We get the benefit of building our future with two All-Region players already here."
While the pair of Lancers were recognized for their regular-season play, two other Lancers stood out during the team's run to the title game.
Alyssa George and Jelena Jablanov were both named to the Region IX All-Tournament Team for playing some of their best volleyball when it mattered most.
George was a six-rotation force during the Lancers' four-day run in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The sophomore from Aurora, Colorado, posted double-doubles in wins against Lamar and Northwest, hit .333 with 10 kills in a sweep of McCook, and led the Lancers with 24 digs in their upset win over Western Nebraska.
Jablanov was the backbone of EWC's defense as she averaged 5.53 digs/set during the tournament. Her best performance came in a 32-dig, seven-assist, one-ace effort during a four-set win against Northwest. Not done, however, the Serbian sophomore followed with 21 digs, five assists, an ace and even a kill against WNCC the next day.
"Those two were exactly what sophomores are supposed to be," Geoffrey said. "After the region tournaments they had they can walk away from their last season here knowing they gave it their all.
"And that goes for all our sophomores. They all made the most of their opportunities. This was a special class that knew how to get the job done."
EWC's late-season surge secured a third-straight winning season for Geoffrey's program, who have never finished below .500 during his tenure.