T-burg’s Lauren Millspaugh stars for SUNY Cortland volleyball

It was only two years ago that Lauren Millspaugh was dazzling on the court for the Trumansburg volleyball team. Now in her second year at SUNY Cortland, Millspaugh has continued to flourish at the collegiate level.

Millspaugh played a massive role in the Red Dragons’ 24-8 campaign as their middle blocker. The highlight of her sophomore season was in the SUNYAC Tournament, where Millspaugh earned MVP honors and helped Cortland claim the conference crown. The MVP was a rewarding accomplishment for Millspaugh, one that she believes is a true team feat.

“I give credit to all my teammates,” Millspaugh said. “I couldn’t do what I do without them, and the confidence that they gave me early on in the season definitely helped me to get to where I got, and the achievements I was able to get. I’m just super grateful, and I couldn’t ask for anything else.”

This marks the fifth straight year that the Red Dragons won the SUNYAC title. They did so in dominant fashion, dropping only two sets during their conference matchups. That carried over into the tournament where they swept Buffalo State in the semifinal and Oswego in the championship.

“This past senior class for my freshman year definitely helped build this legacy at Cortland volleyball,” Millspaugh said. “We knew we wanted to continue this and not just drop it. So at this point, winning a SUNYAC title and going to the NCAA Tournament has become an expectation for this program and [the] goals we set every year.”

Millspaugh saw a major step up in playing time compared to her first season with the Red Dragons. After playing in just five sets last year, Millspaugh was on the court in every single match and in all but three sets, leading the team with 108 blocks.

“I feel like I’ve just grown so much since last year and I’ve been able to build stronger connections with these girls, which has definitely helped me a lot,” Millspaugh  said. “But then also transitioning from high school volleyball to college volleyball and the speed difference, I’ve definitely adapted to that. It just doesn’t feel as stressful or complicated anymore. It’s more like a flow.”

Millspaugh entered Cortland off the back of a stellar career at Trumansburg, in particular her senior year where she helped the Blue Raiders win their first Section IV title since 2011 and made it to the state semifinals. Millspaugh was named IAC MVP during that year and earned First Team All-State honors. Her outstanding play in high school helped prepare her for the next step in her career.

“When I was in high school, I was put into positions where my teammates could count on me to score points, get blocks,” Millspaugh said. “They had so much confidence in me, and then bringing that to the college game and my teammates still have that confidence in me every single day to go do what I do. I know that I can get a kill or get a block when the team needs it, and it helps me a lot when I play.”

Speaking of teammates, Millspaugh is far from the only Blue Raider alum who is making an impact in college volleyball. Fellow Class of 2024 graduate Sailor Ladd helped Penn State- Behrend win the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship, while Kaylee Dickerson-Holly (Class of 2024) and Ellie McLennan (Class of 2023) their teams to the Empire 8 semifinals, SUNY Brockport for Dickerson-Holly and SUNY Geneseo for McLennan.

Millspaugh and the Red Dragons ventured to Virginia Beach for the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Christopher Newport in four sets in first round action. Considering most of their lineup consisted of first-time starters—including Millspaugh—there were plenty of things that their young squad took away from their trip south.

“That was honestly a good learning experience for all of us and to see the other teams’  speeds and different offenses they run outside of the SUNYAC and Region 3,” Millspaugh said. “We’re hungry to get farther into the tournament next season.”

While the wait for next season will be a long one—over eight months, to be exact—Millspaugh and the Red Dragons are laser-focused on how they can step up their game to not only maintain a firm grasp on the SUNYAC but also make it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, something they haven’t done in 14 years.

“[It’s] definitely continuing to build connections and make them even stronger, continuing to play as a team and have fun,” Millspaugh said. “We’re losing three pretty impactful seniors, so seeing who steps up and takes those spots will definitely be very important to see who’s going to do that and who’s going to work hard in the spring.”

Millspaugh wasn’t the only Tompkins County athlete to play in the NCAA Tournament for SUNY Cortland. Dryden’s Nolan Weik was a regular starter in the midfield for the men’s soccer team. The senior guided the Red Dragons to the third round for the third time in his career, losing to second-ranked Augsburg University in a penalty kick shootout.