For the first time in the last seven years, the Lady Bears volleyball team featured a full roster. Head coach Larry Lewis and his staff brought in ten new faces to go with three returning players from a year ago. Under the leadership of Lewis, in his third year at the helm, the Bears once again proved to be competitive virtually every night out, but youthful enough to come up just short in the win/loss column. The Bears finished the season 6-13 overall and 3-6 in Midwest Christian College Conference play.

One highlight of the season was a straight set sweep of Ozark Christian College on Oct. 8^th. The Bears easily dispatched the Ambassadors on that afternoon. It was the same Ambassador team that would go on to win the MCCC tournament two weeks later. Another highlight was the MCCC all-conference recognition that sophomores Kaylie Fruh (Placentia, Calif.) and Courtney Eltringham (Springfield, Mo.) earned.

Lewis noted toward the end of the season, “It just goes to show how close we are to competing for a championship. All season long, we have been able to play every team in the conference tough.”

The one remaining unknown for the Lady Bears is if they can keep and develop a bulk of their youthful roster from this season, while adding just a few missing pieces. If they are successful in that venture, they will continue to inch closer and closer to a championship.