The 2007 high school volleyball season was an exciting one in the county as four teams hit the 20-win plateau with three of those nearing 30 wins. Those three teams return many core players with coaches hoping for another postseason run in 2008.
Jefferson County North finished with the county’s third-best record at 29-13 but was the only county team to survive substate play before falling in pool play at the 3A state tournament. The trip to Salina for state marked the Chargers’ third state berth in four seasons.
The team with the best 2007 record was Oskaloosa at 28-9, but the Bears were upset by ACCHS in the substate semifinals in Winchester to fall short of their goal of a state tourney appearance. Jefferson West also compiled a 29-10 record but fell to Tonganoxie in a 4A substate championship match to fall one win short of a state berth. McLouth improved under new coach Erika Houk in 2007 but finished with a 14-22 record, and Perry-Lecompton posted its second straight 4-27 mark under coach Jill Bradney, who was returning from a 13-year hiatus as high school head coach for the Kaws.
The same lineup of coaches returns in the county as JCN’s Jeremy Gish is the longest-tenured at eight years. No other county school has had its coach for longer than three years.
All six county schools got into action last week. Oskaloosa plays next at the Baldwin Invitational Tournament Saturday, Jefferson West will travel to Holton tonight (Thursday) for a triangular with Holton and Royal Valley, JCN plays next in a triangular at Jackson Heights Sept. 16, Valley Falls plays next at Kansas City Christian Sept. 16, McLouth plays tonight at Bishop Seabury in Lawrence in a triangular with Seabury and Elwood, and Perry-Lecompton travels to play Eudora and Bishop Ward in a triangular tonight.
Following are capsule previews of each team entering this season in order of their finish last season.
Oskaloosa Bears
Coach: Tosha Landau, third year
2007 record: 28-9
Landau lost only two seniors from a team that entered its 3A substate as a top seed and should be in the hunt for more postseason hardware in 2008.
The Bears’ team includes four seniors but the bulk of the roster is made up of underclassmen. Returning leaders are senior hitter Nicole Rockhold, senior hitter Whitney Artman, junior hitter Kyra Coffman, sophomore hitter Kristen Brey, sophomore libero Hailey Kelly and senior hitter Keri Heston. The other senior is libero Cassie Allen. Junior Allison Lloyd saw some varsity time last season and sophomore Jessie Beach is also on the team roster. Five freshmen fill out the roster, including Brooke Beach, Rachel Schmanke, Haley Pfau, Jordan Kampfer and Jordan Miller.
The Bears started the season with wins at Valley Falls Sept. 2.
Efforts to reach Landau for comment on the team were unsuccessful.
Jefferson West Tigers
Coach: Sara Becker, third year
2007 record: 29-10
It’s a case of new name, same coach and all the same players at West as Sara Canseco married over the offseason to become Sara Becker and the Tigers return all the key contributors from a team that came within a win of the 4A state tourney in 2007.
The West squad of 31 players includes seven seniors this year, all of whom will be in the core of the varsity rotation. The varsity group includes senior setter and outside hitter Audrey Mullins, senior setter Jenna Grimmett, senior middle hitter Katie Bigham, senior middle hitter Hilary Mumaw, junior libero Morgan Scott, senior outside hitters Britni Harvey, Whisper Livingston, Hayley Hypse and Michelle Bowen and sophomore Jessica Wells, who Becker said has pushed for playing time in the early going.
“We’ve had a couple younger players challenging for time, which I think is good in that it pushes the older players,” Becker said. West defeated Perry-Lecompton and Piper in its first matches of the season Sept. 4. “We’ve got higher expectations this year. We also finished with the best overall record in school history last year, so that adds some pressure. Overall, we’re pretty similar to last season in terms of rotation.”
Becker said offensive quickness is a key to success for the Tigers this season in a Big Seven League race she looks at as pretty balanced.
“We played summer league and saw a couple teams there,” Becker said. “We ended up winning the league but you don’t really know how good of a gauge that is on the other teams. I think the league will still be pretty tough. You can’t really underestimate anyone.
“We’re really still working even going into our first matches on making the offense much quicker. We want to do a lot of things to push the points and earn our points. We’re getting better at earning them rather than relying on the other team making unforced errors.”
Becker said so far the consensus among West’s coaching staff is that the Tigers are ahead of where they were at this point a year ago.
“You kind of have to think, ‘If this isn’t the year for our volleyball team, when is the year?’ The girls really have understood the importance of role players on the team and everybody filling their role. Last year some girls struggled with that, but this year they’ve been able to accept it.”
JCN Chargers
Coach: Jeremy Gish, eighth year
2007 record: 29-13
The standard is set high for the Chargers as Gish has built a program that has gotten teams expecting to go to state, and with some firepower returning from the 2007 team, the expectations for this Chargers’ squad is no different.
JCN has 26 players out for volleyball, including five seniors. A couple core players graduated from last season’s team but Gish returns an experienced group led by senior hitter and defensive standout Amelia Noll and junior setter Sara Navinskey. Others in the varsity mix include senior setter Devin Gigstad, tall sophomore hitter Jordyne Seichepine, senior hitter Lisa Weishaar, junior hitter Molly Lyon, sophomore hitter Katie Noll, junior defensive specialist Sara Peres and senior Emily McFarland, who Gish said he can use at several different positions on the court.
“We have more than a few girls we can really count on,” Gish said. The Chargers started their season with a 25-19, 25-20 win over KC Christian and a 25-9, 25-18 win over Horton at a triangular Sept. 2 in Horton. “Amelia is an excellent defender and we rely on her to do a lot of things for us. Sara Navinskey has two years of varsity experience already and is one of our leaders. Lisa isn’t tall but can really jump and run – she makes up for height in a lot of other ways. I can’t say we’re tall (as a team) but our attitude is a strength.”
That attitude has been forged by being in the serious hunt for a state berth year after year under Gish’s direction.
“That’s the kind of standard we’ve tried to set,” Gish said of going to state. “That’s our goal each year.The girls are pretty strong mentally, and confident. We’re a scrappy team – the girls like to get after it on the court. I think the biggest difference here is that the girls know its possible to make it to state. They get into a tough situation and can draw on that previous experience and realize there’s no reason why we can’t do it again.”
Gish said he expects another tough road in the DVL, as he has found DVL titles scarcer than state bids.
“It’s always tough. I think we’ve only won the DVL once, maybe twice in the time I’ve been here,” Gish said. “Sometimes you look at it and see its harder to win the league than it is to win substate.
“We’ve got good leadership on the team. Sara (Navinskey) and Amelia Noll are our captains and have a kind of calming influence. They’re both high volleyball IQ players. We started off well and got more transition swings on returns. It was mainly nice to see how cohesive they were immediately. It looks like they get along really well out there. The earlier you can get into midseason form, the easier it is to progress down the stretch.”
Valley Falls Dragons
Coach: Seth Cooper, third year
2007 record: 20-15
Cooper has strength in numbers at Valley Falls as he has 31 girls out for volleyball including a core group of six returning juniors who are now seniors for the Dragons.
Cooper lost three seniors from last year’s team that fell in the opening round of substate play but still managed to win 20 matches. Several players who saw varsity playing time return for the Dragons, including senior hitter Shelbie Glissman, senior setter Kelsey Wessel, junior setter Brenna Lane, sophomore hitter Abbey Kearney, senior hitters Whitney Lindteigen and Chelsy Lassiter, and senior libero Chelsey Horney. Cooper said he also looks to senior Emily Schneider and juniors Hannah Navinskey and Bethany Myers to contribute for the Dragon varsity.
“One thing I wanted to work on this season was our ability to dig balls and keep rallies going,” Cooper said. The Dragons started the season by defeating Jackson Heights, 25-14, 20-25, 25-18, but falling to Oskaloosa, 25-22, 25-23, in a home triangular Sept. 2. “In those first matches there were a couple times where we were able to keep the rally going and get the point, so the girls are buying into it. That’s mainly what we’ve been focusing on over the last 2 1/2 weeks.”
Cooper agreed that the DVL should be competitive this year, and he said he thinks Valley Falls should be in the league race this season.
“I think the top four or five teams in the league – JCN, Oskaloosa, Pleasant Ridge, us, maybe Jackson Heights – any of those five could come away with the title, “ he said. “Our outside hitting is our strength. I thought we came out and played well together starting out.The more experience the girls get together, the better they’ll get. I’ve been very happy so far. The girls have worked very hard in practice. After our first matches they talked about certain drills we did and how they helped so they’re really starting to buy into what we’re doing.”
McLouth Bulldogs
Coach: Erika Houk, second year
2007 record: 14-22
Houk’s first year saw the Bulldogs improve to 14 wins on a team including some contributing underclassmen that Houk hopes will take a step forward in 2008.
The Bulldogs have 20 girls out for the sport with four seniors. Only two of the seniors see varsity playing time, however, so Houk has some youth on her side. Senior hitters Haley Holwick and Kasey Campbell lead a Bulldog varsity that also includes tall junior hitter Kylie Shufflebarger as well as sophomore libero Logan Terry, junior hitters Cassidy Bristol, Courtney Chilcoat and Taylor Rush, sophomore setter Jeri Holwick, sophomore Jessie Troupe and sophomore back row specialist Katy Perry.
“We’re a pretty young squad,” said Houk, who played at Oskaloosa and Allen County Community College and coached club teams before getting the MHS job. “The girls have been working really hard. I think the main thing for us is having confidence in ourselves, because that’s something the girls have struggled with. It makes a difference going out there thinking you’re gonna win than going out and worrying about losing.”
Houk said the Delaware Valley League should be tough with Oskaloosa and JCN returning so many key players and also Pleasant Ridge having a good squad. She said she has seen some of the winning attitude that helped the MHS softball team to a third-place state finish in the spring carry over to her team.
“Attitude is a big factor,” she said. The Bulldogs got started 2-0 on the season with a 25-10, 25-12 win over Wathena and a 25-23, 25-12 win over new DVL member Immaculata Sept. 2 in Leavenworth. “Kylie is definitely a big strength on the squad. She’s dependable and the girls trust her. She’s our go-to girl. She and Courtney are our captains. Hitting is a strength of ours, and Logan has stepped in and filled the libero shoes well so far. The girls played well (in the first matches). You could tell they had a bond there. You can have six all-Americans out there but if they don’t play together and communicate, it’s gonna show.”
Perry-Lecompton Kaws
Coach: Jill Bradney, second year
2007 record: 4-27
A solid core of returnees is back to lead the Kaws in work to improve from a 4-win 2007 under coach Bradney, who came back to the high school level last year after a year off and 12 years before that at the middle school level. Prior to her move to middle school coaching, Bradney was high school volleyball head coach for the Kaws for seven years.
This year’s squad of Kaws includes 32 players and only four seniors in that group. Bradney said she is looking to three of the senior returnees – middle hitter Courtney Kasson, outside hitter Andrea Phillips and setter Chelsea Williams – to lead the team. She said junior setter Katie Volle and junior libero Shelby Erickson would also play key roles, with sophomore Jordan Madorin and freshman Sierra Morgison gaining experience to chip in as the year progresses.
“I think the girls know more what I expect this season,” Bradney said. The Kaws lost to Piper and Jefferson West in their first matches of the season Sept. 4. “We showed some improvement as the year progressed last season, and a lot of these girls played softball for me last spring so they know what kind of work ethic I’m looking for. We’re still getting rid of some bad habits.”
As part of a tough Kaw Valley League, Bradney said the Kaws have been working on being more aggressive but still playing smart.
“We’re wanting to be a little more aggressive and a little better in our passing and serving,” she said. “The girls have been hitting the ball harder but we’re trying to get them to hit it smarter at the same time. We’re taking little things at a time and correcting them.”
The mental part of the game is something Bradney said she is also working on cultivating with the Kaws.
“We need to work on our general confidence on the court,” Bradney said. “We did see a lot of positives in our first matches and saw some things we need to still work on. The girls know there are things they should have done, so they know what needs to be worked on.
“It feels like I’m finally getting my system in there.”
Top Photo: Jefferson County North senior libero Amelia Noll receives a serve while fellow senior Devin Gigstad sets up in the background during North’s win over Maur Hill Mount Academy at the Jefferson West Invitational Saturday in Meriden. North finished second in the tournament.
