By Russell Korando
For the Leader
It’s been a whirlwind of matches in the first five days of the season for De Soto, which has already played in seven matches.
Head coach Lindsey Brinkman said last season’s 7-21-3 overall mark and 0-4 record in the conference was disappointing, and she changed the way her team approaches practices after they struggled last season to play hard for 25 points.
“It’s definitely a new team this year,” Brinkman said. “We’re attempting to challenge and push girls both physically and mentally to get them to not only reach their potential, but to believe in themselves and work as a cohesive whole.”
Senior Kylie Hardin enters her fourth season as setter. Hardin made second-team all-conference a year ago after racking up 534 assists.
“She’s the one who keeps us running on the floor,” Brinkman said.
Senior middle hitter Kelsey Davidson will be the primary weapon on offense again. Davidson had 209 kills and 23 aces in a season and was an honorable mention all-conference pick.
Junior Kristen Theiss returns at libero and looks more confident with a year under her belt at the position, Brinkman said. Theiss had 209 digs last year.
Senior Rachel Copeland has vastly improved as a defensive specialist and has become a vocal leader on the floor.
Senior outside hitter Marissa Robinson has gained confidence after moving from the right side to outside hitter.
“Her ability to cut the ball and find holes should serve us well,” Brinkman said.
Junior Emily Bielicke is a middle hitter who was called up to the varsity midway through the 2016 season. Brinkman said Bielicke’s blocking has significantly improved.
Sophomore outside hitter Emma Portell provides consistency in the front and back rows. Azi Pinson offers strong blocking from the right side and Maria Horn will help on defense.
“We spent a lot of time on fundamentals and the mental aspect of the game,” Brinkman said.
Hawks working for Boss
In her first season as head coach, Erin Boss led Hillsboro to a 22-9-1 record and a share of the JCAA large-school championship with Windsor. During a midseason stretch, the Hawks won 11 of 12, including the Seckman Tournament.
“The girls worked hard and overcame a lot last season, with having a new coach and new players to adjust to,” Boss said. “Overall, we had a great season that ended too short with a tough loss (to Mehlville) in the first round of the district tournament.”
The Hawks lost all-conference first-team performers Lindsay Barton and Kara Dunn to graduation, but return a second-teamer, senior Shauna Patterson.
Patterson is the team’s middle hitter who had a 94 percent serve completion, 130 kills and 106 blocks.
“She is going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Boss said. “She will work hard every play and doesn’t want any ball to get past her.”
Senior Sara Pate returns to her setter position after racking up a team-leading 320 assists last fall. Boss said Pate will even step up into the offense and score a kill or two most games.
“She sees the ball better than most setters I have worked with,” Boss said. “Sara works the ball and knows her hitters and utilizes them the best way she knows how.”
Sophomore Grace Ringling is in her second varsity season as a middle hitter. Boss said Ringling and Patterson should give the Hawks a dominant attack in the middle. Ringling had 62 kills and 24 solo blocks last season.
“Grace is one of the hardest-working and most determined players I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching,” Boss said. “She’s always striving to get better.”
Outside hitter Shea Luby, a junior, served effectively 97 percent of the time in 304 attempts last season and had 110 kills and 393 digs.
“I expect my girls to be competitive every single match with every single team we face,” Boss said. “I also expect them to play as a team and to play their game from start to finish.”
Owls return three to varsity
Windsor’s 2016 season ended in heartbreak when it took the No. 1 seed into the Class 3 District 2 tournament but fell in three games to Ste. Genevieve – 27-25 in the third and deciding game.
The Owls finished 22-8 and split the JCAA large-schools title with Hillsboro.
This season, head coach Stephany Dueker only has eight players on the varsity and just two of those are taller than 5-6. The roster breakdown includes one senior, two juniors and five sophomores. That group is off to a 3-1-1 start this season.
“We are super young; however we are skilled and this is by far the best defensive team I have had in 21 years,” Dueker said. “We will be a work in progress as our offense develops and my defense continues to get better. I expect us to compete in every game and grow for the future.”
With all-conference first-teamer and player of the year Katie Duncan graduated, the Owls lost their best all-around player in years.
Dueker said the team’s only senior, Maggie Figler, has been impressive so far. Figler will play all the way through each rotation.
“Her passing has been spectacular; better than I hoped for at this point,” Dueker said.
Duncan’s younger sister, Taylor, a sophomore, returns as setter after notching 326 assists last season. Taylor was named to the all-league second team in 2016.
“She has fabulous hands, a huge love for the game and a true desire to get the ball defensively and is beyond her years in court sense,” Dueker said. “She is doing an amazing job running our offense.”
Sophomore Ally Moore, an honorable mention selection last year, returns as the libero. Dueker said Moore’s serve-receive ability is impeccable and she is becoming more offensive minded.
“And her defense is stellar, to say the least,” Dueker said.
Junior McKenna Brown is the team’s tallest player and will play middle hitter. Dueker said Brown is a good blocker and is becoming more comfortable with a variety of sets. Junior Samantha Sabatino is a right-side hitter and a scrappy defender whose hitting is starting to take shape.
Sophomores Kennedy Detmer, Alyssa Vaughn and Abby Bailey have been promoted from the junior varsity. Dueker said Detmer gives Moore a run for her money defensively. Vaughn is working on straightening out her hitting but is very athletic. And Bailey plays middle hitter and has good timing on blocks.
Freshmen Sydney Williams, Sydnie Kube and Lidiya Sokolic will split time between the junior varsity and varsity.
“We are so young, I only have two players with a driver’s license,” Dueker said.
Crystal City seniors familiar with veteran coach
Seniors Maebry Jones and Grace Lay have played for Hornets head coach Laura Helwig since they were in seventh grade.
Jones, a middle hitter, and Lay, a setter, are joined by junior Riley Meyer, who was second-team all-conference last year playing middle hitter. Sophomore Ashleigh Damazyn will split time between the varsity and JV.
The Hornets finished 4-21 overall and 0-5 in the JCAA small-school division and were beaten by St. Vincent in the Class 1 District 4 tournament last year.
“Overall, it was not a strong season,” Helwig said. “We struggled to play together and win games.
“We’re hoping to improve on last year’s record. The girls have been working hard.”
Helwig said Meyer is bigger and stronger than last year when she had 61 kills and 16 aces.
“Riley has been working hard,” Helwig said, “but for us to do well, it has to be a team effort.”
The Hornets lost their first match of the season Aug. 24 at Bismarck.
“We’ve been working really hard and we came out on the very first play and Riley set Grace. She nailed it and I thought everything was going to be OK,” Helwig said. “Then we went downhill. We were touching balls that were clearly going out of bounds and lost focus and it was frustrating.
“I have better leadership this year. You can have nice kids, but if you don’t have a leader on the floor, you struggle.”
Tigers make strides in Biehle’s first year back
In her first year back after a short retirement, Karen Biehle, who embarks upon her 32nd year as the Festus head coach, said the Tigers took positive steps as they finished 16-15 overall and 4-5 in the large-schools pool.
“Now we need to improve on where we want to be,” she said. “Now we need to go to work in practice each day and make every rep a solid skill.”
The Festus Hall of Fame coach knows how to extract every ounce of skill from her players, and she has a solid 10-player varsity to move the team forward.
“The girls did a lot of work in the offseason, both in the weight room and on the court,” Biehle said.
Bria Garmon earned a spot on the JCAA first team as a freshman last year after leading the Tigers in attacks (696) and kills (281).
Senior Emily Werner, who made honorable mention, returns after leading Festus in blocks (35) and serve percentage (99.2). Festus has two others seniors in Chloe Martin and Sydney Nahlik. Martin led the Tigers with 21 aces and Nahlik was perfect on all 50 of her serves.
Festus has a strong junior class in Kailey Johnson, Grace Lassing, Alexis Thebeau, Maddy Wenzelburger and Claire Werner. Aside from Garmon, Alyssa Seyfarth is the other sophomore. Lassing led the Tigers last year with 355 digs.
“We are not a team of individuals,” Biehle said. “Each member of the team makes it possible for the others to stand out.”
The Tigers dropped their first match of the season on Aug. 22 to Ste. Genevieve, 25-23, 25-15.
Three seniors are heavy contributors for Blue Jays
Ashleigh Nagel is the only volleyball coach Jefferson has ever had in its nine seasons of existence.
Nagel led the Blue Jays to a record of 14-14-2 overall and 2-6 in the conference in 2016. Jefferson’s season came to an end at the hands of eventual Class 2 state champion St. Pius X in the Class 2 District 3 semifinals.
“In 2016, we were coming off of some good years with a large class that made waves in our program,” Nagel said. “My seniors last year had to redefine their roles and become the leaders.”
Three seniors and a junior this season will play pivotal roles. Junior Kendall Runzi was named to the second-team all-conference list last year at libero after she had 292 digs. Senior Hanna Floyd led the Blue Jays with 142 kills.
Senior Hanna Becherer is a solid defensive specialist and senior Tracey Price returns at setter after notching 231 assists last season.
“We have many players who either return to the varsity or are coming up to the varsity with good experience and will help us offensively and defensively,” Nagel said.
The Blue Jays beat Seckman 25-8, 25-19 in their season opener Aug. 22.
Blackcats look to build on 22-win season
Herculaneum enjoyed more success last season than it has recently after winning 22 games, finishing 4-2 in the JCAA small-school division and winning two tournament championships. The Blackcats’ season ended in the Class 3 District 2 semifinals to the eventual district champion Ste. Genevieve.
This season, head coach Audrey Meda can rely on seven seniors who’ve played together since seventh grade, each with diversified skill sets.
“They are motivated to be successful,” said Meda, the coach of the year in the JCAA small-schools division in 2016. “The success of the team this year will be determined by their mental toughness. Physically, they have the ability to do great things. We are not a big team so the emphasis will be focused on our defense.”
RaeAnne Andrews was a first-team all-conference player last season but she has graduated, leaving big shoes to fill.
Senior Lauren Partney, a second-teamer in 2016, will be the setter for a third year.
“She is one of the hardest-working athletes I’ve ever coached and is always giving 100 percent,” Meda said.
Senior libero Ashley Lodike does an excellent job of reading hitters’ hands and has been named captain.
“She has an aggressive back-row attack,” Meda said.
Seniors Dani Vaughn, Claire Shadowens and Emily Fischer are all solid hitters and blockers, Meda said.
RaeAnn Fuller (6-1) adds height to the front row and Meda said she’s solid offensively and defensively.
Meda enters her 12th season coaching the Blackcats, and many of the girls on this year’s team have been under her guidance since middle school.
“Six of our seven seniors have moms teaching within our school district,” Meda said.
Eagles climb success ladder
Grandview volleyball head coach Madeline Ketcherside expects her Eagles to keep climbing the ladder of success that’s seen them go from one win in 2014 to 17 last fall, her first year at the helm.
The Eagles were 17-10 overall and 1-4 in the Jefferson County Activities Association small-schools division. They were beaten by Saxony Lutheran in the Class 2 District 3 tournament. Grandview has three returning seniors and two juniors coming back to try to surpass last year’s success.
“My expectations for the coming season are to work as a team and to have determination, dedication, integrity, sportsmanship and self-discipline from our student-athletes on the court and in the classroom,” Ketcherside said.
Ketcherside’s sister, senior Macy Ketcherside, is one of the top players in the JCAA and was a second-team all-conference selection a year ago, when she had 142 kills and 149 blocks playing middle hitter.
Senior C.C. Diedrichs leads a strong group in the back row as a defensive specialist. Senior Katelyn McGlaughlin can help on offense and defense. Junior Katie Huskey is also a solid two-way player. And junior Kaylyn Sparks takes over the role of setter from her older sister, Kirstin, who has graduated. Kirstin led the Eagles with 163 assists last season and Kaylyn had 80.