CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Laramie County Community College volleyball team’s 2023 schedule has been released, and the Golden Eagles will compete in 34 matches this season looking to build on their trip to the Region IX semifinals in 2022.
“We believe we have put together a very competitive roster for 2023 so we have created a challenging schedule for our team as well,” head coach Zach Shaver said. “For our team to accomplish our goals we need to consistently play against the strongest programs in the country.”
Laramie County will be playing in four tournaments this year, including three regional tournaments in Casper, McCook and the WyoBraska Invitational held in Torrington and Scottsbluff. They will also be opening the season at one of the best tournaments in the country at Roswell, New Mexico.
“On opening weekend in Roswell, we will play 2 matches against teams who played in our National Championship Tournament last year including the host New Mexico Military Institute who finished the season 9th in the country,” Shaver said.
Along with the NMMI, the Golden Eagles will face off with another tournament qualifier in Eastern Arizona College in the opening tournament. Laramie County has five other matches against teams from the National Championship Tournament, including Central Wyoming College, Northeastern Junior College, and Western Nebraska Community College from Region IX for a total of at least seven matches against NJCAA tournament qualifiers.
The Region IX schedule is a longer one this season with the return of Gillette College to the north bringing the total of sub-region games to 12, and that portion will begin on Sept. 19, when they host Eastern Wyoming College at Storey Gymnasium at 7 p.m.
“Our Region IX schedule is very difficult, and we have added to that challenge by scheduling tournaments and individual matches with several nationally ranked opponents,” Shaver said.
As mentioned, the team will have eleven home games at Storey Gymnasium this year, beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. when they host the Lamar Community College Running Lopes, also taking place on Military Appreciation Night.
Other appreciation nights include Faculty and Staff Appreciation on Sept. 19, the Boys and Girls Club on Oct. 3, All-Star Appreciation on Oct. 6 and the annual Pink Out game on Oct. 7. Spike Out Polio night will be held on Oct. 14 and the Booster Appreciation night will be on Oct. 20.
“We are excited that we were able to almost double the number of matches played here in Cheyenne from 6 in 2022 to 11 in 2023. We have such great fans here in Cheyenne that it is a distinct advantage to play at home with their support,” Shaver added. “One big highlight in our schedule that we hope everyone can attend is our match on Saturday, October 21 against Central Wyoming as we honor and celebrate our sophomores.”
A full schedule can be found online here, and tickets for the upcoming season can be purchased on the site as well as at the gate of each game. All home matches will be streamed online on the LCCC Golden Eagles YouTube page.
