Oswego State volleyball team prepares for game during election day

OSWEGO, N.Y. –When elections come around, the whole country changes, and citizens talk about the same subject, and in sports, this is no different.

The Oswego women’s volleyball team will have a game on the same day as the election on Nov. 5. It will be the first time in years that the Lakers will be playing during the presidential election. In 2020, there was no season in college sports due to COVID.

The Laker will hit the road and face RIT in Rochester. Head Coach Jon Stenman said this would not be a problem for the athletes to vote since the game is not far away from the college campus, and students have time to vote earlier in the day.

The volleyball practices at the Max Ziel Gymnasium are intense and have a friendly environment. Stenman often talks about many topics with his athletes, and elections are no different.

“In a way, a good distraction, something like you know you can have a conversation about with them and kinda educate them how the system works, how the process works.” Stenman said, “And you know their expectations if they’re registered to vote here versus at home.”

Many players from the roster are young and have never voted before. The majority of them are in college for their first elections. Stenman said it led to many conversations about how to prepare to vote and where.

These conversations are crucial in a democracy, but they are not losing track of one thing. They are also in a competition.

“Having this in the back of their mind, knowing we four conference games coming up before that game on the fifth.” Stenman said, “Trying to get between all that and figure out, ok, who do I wanna vote for? Who is the best person for me moving forward?”

The Lakers are having a great season, and expectations are high for the players for the rest of their SUNYAC season.