The Nipissing Lakers women’s volleyball team has added versatility as they secure their newest recruit.
The Lakers are excited and proud to announce the signing of outside hitter/libero, Libby Spence, who will join the program for the 2025-26 OUA season.
Spence is joining the Lakers after wrapping up a successful career with the Kitchener-Waterloo Predators Volleyball Momentum program.
“The minute I stepped foot in the gym for the first time, everyone on the volleyball team was so welcoming and I could see how much each person truly cared for one another. All the athletes introduced themselves to me in seconds, which made me feel so comfortable around them,” Spence said of the reason she accepted the offer to the Lakers.
A product of Cambridge, ON, Spence also plays volleyball at the high school level for École Secondaire Catholique Père-René-De-Galinée (PRDG).
Spence can play both the outside, as well as libero positions, excelling at both at the club and high school levels.
She’s looking forward to continuing her progress and development with the Lakers.
“Expectations I have for myself are to continue to work hard and develop as much as I can as a player, and an individual so that I can contribute to the team’s success in any way I can,” she said. “I am so excited to start working with this amazing group of people and I am ready to be the best teammate I can be. I can’t wait to get on the court with my new team.”
Enrolling in BPHE and planning on attending teacher’s college following her undergraduate degree, Spence is ready for the challenges of a student-athlete.
“My strengths as a player are that I’m a very agile and a versatile player which makes me able to play whatever position the coaches need me to play. I have very good court awareness which helps me be very accurate with my skills and I have a good vertical jump from my gymnastics background which helps me to be big at the net. I am also a great teammate, always ready to encourage my teammates at every point,” she said, adding that the academic side of her decision an easy one.
“I love the small size of the campus, especially coming from a smaller high school. The University has an amazing program. On my tour, I thought the campus was so nice and I could see myself attending the University which made the decision very easy,” she explained.
Spence has had success on the beach, as well as on the court, securing a number of medals and all-stars throughout her career.
Beach Success
She was a member of Team Ontario Beach in 2024, finished second at Beach Provincials playing up in 18u in 2024, third at Beach Provincials in 17u in 2024, placed fifth in Beach Nationals in 2023 and 2024, Team Ontario Beach in 2023.
Predators Success
Her and her team finished fifth at indoor Provincials with KW Predators in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and fifth at Nationals with KW Predators in 2024.
High School Success
She earned a District 8 first team All-Star in 2022, 2023 and 2024, as well as CWOSSA champions qualifying her high school team to OFSAA in 2023 and 2024 and finished fifth at OFSAAin 2023 and 2024.
All of these accomplishments, but also her skill and attitude made her a quality recruit for the Lakers to bring on board.
“We are very happy to welcome Libby to Lakers family,” said head coach Marc LaRochelle. “Libby is extremely athletic and moves very well on the court. She has shown great versatility on the court being left-handed with the capabilities of playing both antennas and is efficient in serve receive. What stood out to us is that Libby’s has a great attitude and fantastic work ethic which match perfectly with our strong team culture and future goals.
“We look forward to working with Libby to reach her future goals both in the classroom and on the court,” LaRochelle added.