What a season it was for the Bruins in 2013-14.
Of the five teams in the program, three teams punched a ticket to their respective national tournament and the other two, just a few wins away from their own trip. Leading into the 2014-15 season, the athletes and coaches are eager to reach that next step.
Volleyball
Last season, the SLCC volleyball team steamrolled its competition going 26-8 including a perfect 10-0 in Scenic West Athletic Conference play. They rode into the NJCAA National Tournament as the No. 6 national seed and swept its first two round matches 3-0 before dropping the decisive fifth game in a match against No. 2 Tyler Junior College.
That 3-2 loss was the difference from a spot in the national championship match. One key contributing factor of dropping that match was the loss of sophomore captain Bailee Kendall in the second set to a serious knee injury.
When asked about what to expect this season following that disappointing loss, Head Coach Sue Dulaney said, “In any sport, you always come in to the new season with the previous year’s result in mind. With the returning freshmen coming back, they know what it takes to get back to that point. I think one of the most important things is how quick the incoming freshman can buy in and realize how important each match is.”
The team will open up their season Aug. 12 as they will scrimmage Westminster College at Westminster at 2 p.m. The first match inside Bruin Arena will be Aug. 29 at 10 a.m. as the Lady Bruins play host to the Crystal “Inn”vitational tournament.
Men’s Basketball
The SLCC men’s basketball team made their first trip to the national tournament since the 2008-09 national championship team by going 27-7 and 11-4 in conference play.
Going toe to toe with the College of Southern Idaho for the conference lead all season, SLCC went into the Region 18 tournament as the No. 2 seed behind CSI and met in the tournament championship where SLCC proved to be the better team by defeating CSI 62-49.
The Bruins later earned the district championship a week later with a 75-59 win over Mesa Community College to punch their ticket to Hutchinson, Kan. where they dropped their opening round game on a heartbreaking buzzer beating three point shot 78-81 to Columbia State.
Coming into the 2014-15 season, the Bruins have lost the Region 18 Co-Player of the Year in Gary Payton II. However, they do return one starter and a few key reserves that both saw ample minutes.
De’sean Parsons started 24 games last season and averaged just over 11 points per game and earned second team All-Region 18. Zerrion Payton and CJ Spjute primarily came off the bench and both averaged over 10 minutes per game.
“We have had and then lost the player of the year in our league the last two years and each year we have to figure out a way to replace the top guys,” Head Coach Todd Phillips said. “We are excited about the new recruits we are bringing in with a 6’4” redshirt point guard, two seven footers, and a couple long athletic wings. The trick every year is to get the players to buy into our team philosophy and realize we can achieve more together than we can individually.”
That 6’4” redshirt point guard Phillips is referring to is Hayden Schenck who practiced with the team following arrival after the fall 2013 semester. As a senior at Weber High School in Pleasant View, Utah, Schenck led all 5A schools with 26 points per game.
Women’s Basketball
Women’s basketball round up the three teams who made a berth to their respective national tournament last season. With arguably the most successful season in program history, the Lady Bruins completed their season at 26-8, 13-2 including a 16-game winning streak leading to the regular season conference championship.
Heading into the Region 18 tournament as the No. 1 seed, SLCC met with No. 2 seed CSI in the championship. In a wire to wire game, a three point attempt by Summer Yack rimmed out as the buzzer rang en route to a 65-67 loss to the Golden Eagles giving CS the region’s automatic berth to the national tournament in Salina, Kan.
Because of their success, the Lady Bruins earned an at-large bid to the tournament and made it to the Sweet 16 where the lost yet another close game to Central Arizona 61-63 after leading nearly the entire game.
Both the men’s and women’s basketball seasons open as each team will play host to the SLCC Jamboree. Both events will be played at Bruin Arena and last from 8 a.m. until the last game ends. The men’s Jamboree is slated of Oct. 18 as the women’s is Oct. 24.
Baseball
Despite a rather successful season at 36-18 and a regular season conference championship with a record of 22-10, Head Coach DG Nelson and the rest of the SLCC baseball team feels as though they missed out on an opportunity.
The Bruins went into the Region 18 tournament as the host and the No. 1 seed. Dropping their second contest against Western Nevada College, SLCC fought their way back into the tournament championship where they would square away against WNC and have to beat them twice to earn a right to the district playoffs.
SLCC dropped that championship game 4-8 giving the Wildcats the right to the district playoffs and the Bruins a sour taste in their mouths.
Coming into the 2015 season, Nelson returns two regular starting pitchers including reigning Region 18 Co-Pitcher of the Year Jason Jourdan who closed out his 2014 campaign with a 7-2 record and a miniscule 2.68 earned run average.
Also returning are three All-Region 18 position starters in infielder Taylor Snyder, outfielder Caleb Summerhays and catcher Zach Willis.
SLCC opens up their 2015 home season March 5 as they will take on the same team that knocked them out of the Region 18 tournament, Western Nevada. First pitch from Cate Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Softball
With a year of college coaching experience under her belt, Head Softball Coach Cyndee Bennett should be plenty excited as she will have all but three from last year’s squad returning for the upcoming 2015 season.
“My expectations are very high,” Bennett said. “The girls we have coming back are great leaders and we all know what it take to win and are very motivated.”
After three consecutive national runner-up finishes, the SLCC softball team put together yet another successful season going 36-21 and 29-12 in conference play. Once they hit the Region 18 tournament, the Lady Bruins ran into a tough CSI team and dropped the championship game to the Lady Golden Eagles 2-3. Just short of earning the program’s sixth consecutive trip to the national tournament.
The Lady Bruins open up their home schedule at Bruin Field with a doubleheader against in-state rival Snow College on Feb. 27 at 1 p.m.
