A local volleyball powerhouse has drawn a close to her varsity career by contributing to an incredible achievement. Her Canadian College Athletic Association affiliated team, the Lakeland College Rustlers based in Lloydminster, pulled off a third consecutive national victory, and it did so with an undefeated record throughout its season.
Prior to her tenure with the Rustlers, Varga drew attention throughout her high school and club play, alongside volleyball virtuoso brothers Devon, Lyndon and Skyler. In her hometown of Muenster, her parents Darren and Jewel Varga headed up teams which led many area youth to success in the sport.
Head coach of the Rustlers’ women's volleyball team, Austin Dyer has watched Varga’s innate skills grow over her years of competition. She represents one of the anchors for the team’s ongoing success.
As is her habit, Jenay is quick to share credit for the team’s accomplishments with her squad mates and coach.
“We’ve had a lot of players that have been able to return and that’s helped to build and connect with one another,” Varga said. “Austin has been able to recruit a lot of really great gals here. They’re great players and great people.”
“It was a season for the ages, basically,” Dyer commented on the 2024-25 campaign. “We returned the majority of our national championship team from the last two years. While we had to fill in a couple of spots, we were still very strong, and we saw that right away when our season started.”
In league play, the Rustlers went an undefeated 19 and 0, and they didn’t drop a game during their extensive exhibition play. In fact, in accomplishing that record, they dropped only one set in all their matchups.
“That’s incredible because the exhibition play is my bench playing matches and finding ways to win as well.”
A team that had coalesced in its vision and it’s knowledge of each other's play simply overpowered the opposition.
“I think we were all on the same page the whole season,” Varga reflected. “We had our goals set at the beginning of the season, so we all knew what we were striving for.”
Once the season wrapped up and the club headed into the conference tournament, they once again drove through undefeated. The same result ensued during their national championship trio of matches – three up, three down for a blemish free season. Their gold medal final saw Ontario’s Humber College go down to defeat.
Through it all, Varga faced every challenge as she has through her playing years, with competitive fierceness and unwavering humility. Varga completes her senior year as a champion. The COVID pandemic extended her eligibility for a season, but at the end of her college play, Dyer has nothing but positives for the veteran.
“She gets to go out winning a national championship in her final match, so we couldn’t be happier for her,” Dyer says. “She’s grown so much as a person and as an athlete. Her dedication in being the best possible player and teammate is unquestioned. She led the way and showed everybody what it takes to be elite as a post-secondary athlete. She didn’t waver. What she’s done for our program has been unbelievable.”
Jenay says now that her college career is wrapped up, she hopes to follow her brother Lyndon who has been playing competitively in Europe for the past few years.
“It’s something that I’ve looked into. I’ve looked into getting an agent, and I’m just waiting to see where I can end up in Europe – anywhere that I can play some more.”
While no sporting team’s success rests solely on an individual's shoulders, a squad of women with the spirit and sensibilities of Jenay Varga has established a true dynasty in the college volleyball world.