Former John Paul II Collegiate and Battlefords Volleyball Club standout, Declan Mercer took home Rookie of the Year honours at the Rustlers' year-end awards. (Facebook/Lakeland College Rustlers)

By Martin Martinson

Making an Impact

N.B. local, Mercer named Rustlers Rookie of the Year

Mar 31, 2023 | 8:00 AM

North Battleford’s Declan Mercer has been recognized for his standout play in his first season of ACAC (Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference) volleyball, as the Lakeland Rustlers Rookie of the Year.

A key piece of a young Rustlers’ team, featuring just a single graduating player, Mercer said it’s special to be recognized out of a competitive crop of up-and-coming players on the team.

“Obviously it’s a huge honour, and especially because we had a pretty big rookie class of about eight other guys, so to come out on top and be recognized is pretty huge,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to seeing what comes next for me and the program.”

Declan Mercer spikes the ball in action with the Rustlers this season. (Submitted photo/Declan Mercer)

Mercer said off all the adjustments to the college game this season, the overall speed of the game – and size and athleticism of the opponents – is what stood out most from his first days on the court with the team.

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“It’s just a whole new level [in college] that I honestly did not even anticipate,” Mercer said. “You have to be so much quicker at everything you do: decision-making, making reads, and then just being faster and jumping higher. There are guys I’m playing against now that are 6-foot-8 consistently, so it’s a huge difference, and adjusting to the whole next level was the biggest thing.”

However, Mercer did make the adjustment, using his time early in the season to work hard in the gym and in practice to be ready for when the opportunity arose to make an impact with the team.

Starting the season playing sparingly through the first six games, Mercer said that experience helped prepare him for his expanded role down the stretch, taking on a full-time starter’s role with the team from there.

Mercer finished the season as the Rustlers’ starting middle, ranking third on the team in blocks (24), third in blocks per set (0.47), seventh in points (70), and sixth in kills per set (0.78) in 16 games.

The infusion of youth also seemed to spark the team’s play as well. Coming off a bit of a slower start to the schedule with a 2-4 record through their first six games, Lakeland hit their stride as the season went along, ultimately finishing their schedule red-hot with nine wins in their last 10 games heading into the playoffs.

From there, the team also topped Northwestern Polytechnic in five sets in their play-in game, to advance to the first round against the top-seeded Red Deer Polytechnic Kings, who they again took the distance.

Pushing the Kings to extra points in the fifth set, Mercer tied a team high with three blocks, while also adding seven points in the series.

Though the Rustlers came up just short against the defending champs, they did rebound quickly with a four-set victory over Olds College, before ending their run with a five-set loss to Kings University to finish sixth overall of the 14 teams in the ACAC, as a very young team overall.

Mercer said he’s already looking forward to a bright future ahead with the team.

“It’s a good group and as long as everyone sticks around we could be something for real in the ACAC for a while to come, so we’re all looking forward to it,” he said.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1