The No. 2 ranked Lafayette girls volleyball team began their season with a dominant upset over St. Joe’s, the preseason No. 1 ranked large-school team in the conference.

The underdog Lancers beat the perennial powerhouse in straight sets, 25-17 and 25-22.

“We knew we could do it. We won state, but people still thought we were inferior to them just because they beat us last year. It was pretty cool to show everyone that it wasn’t a fluke,” said junior Lily Johnson.

When asked about the victory, Johnson said “This was a unified team effort.  Our defense was phenomenal and all of our hitters were firing on all cylinders.”

With the retirement of long time head coach Steve Burkart, there was some trepidation over how successful the team would be with new head coach Zach Young.  Johnson quickly put the speculation to rest.

“I think all of us except one have played for Zach on junior varsity, so we all know him really well. We love him, and he’s an awesome coach who really knows what he’s talking about.”

The Lancers continue their quest on Friday at Kirkwood.