Just like that the Lakeland Regional High School’s 2023 boys volleyball season comes to an end. Although the season was a little rockier than expected, the team put in the hours and started picking up during the end of the season.

One major hurdle for the young team this season was injuries. Sophomore Cristian Espinal tells the Lancer Ledger, “We started with all of our seniors leaving, and only three past varsity players remaining on the team. Aside from this, two great players were injured.”

But, even though they faced a lot of downs during this season, they also had some positive moments. According to Espinal, “Some ups were the return of [sophomore] Douglas “Trip” Dalrymple from his injury that lasted most of the season.” Another player who brought a strong game this

season, according to sophomore Juan Perez, was senior Theodore Jacela, who “did outstanding this season and had multiple kills every game.”

Coach Brian Philips shared which games really stood out this season. He said, “Our best game was beating Jefferson at the end of the regular season because they had 15 wins and were ranked highly in the state.” The boys put their all into this game and came back happier than ever and with a win that they were least expecting.

Even with a rough start, the team persevered. There are also high hopes for next season as the young team continues to grow. According to Coach Phillips, “We return most of the team next season and I think we can compete for conference, county and state championships.”