Previews of the area’s high school volleyball teams
The combination of Ava Weaver setting to Ava Troyer, left, will be a common one for a Lady Hawks team that has incredibly high expectations heading into the 2023 campaign.
The high school volleyball season began Aug. 18.
Here are season previews for each school in The Holmes Bargain Hunter’s coverage area:
Hiland
Led by nine returning letterwinners, the Lady Hawks have a lot to be excited about heading into this season.
“We have really high expectations for this group of girls,” said third-year coach Kelly Miller, whose team finished 21-4 overall and first in the Inter-Valley Conference South Division with an 11-1 record last season. “The nine seniors have been playing together for six-plus years. There are only six positions on the court, (and we have) nine returning lettermen and six newcomers, (which) should make it interesting.”
The returning letterwinners are seniors Ava Troyer (M), Ava Weaver (S), Haley Yoder (OH), Allie Beun (DS/OH), Grace Keim (L) and Lilly Goings (DS) and juniors Callie Kaufman (M/OH), Lehla Schlabach (OH) and Caroline Malicky (M/OH). The promising newcomers are seniors Ellie Miller (DS), Alexa Troyer (DS) and Josalyn Varga (DS); juniors Halle Shetler (S) and Addison Starn (OH); and sophomore Alayna Yoder (M/RS).
“We do have a lot of depth, which is a huge strength for us,” coach Miller said. “We also have the powerhouse offense back from Haley Yoder and Ava Troyer. Ava Weaver broke some records as a setter this year but don’t be surprised to see her swinging in the front row some as well. Halle Shetler has stepped up this summer and done a phenomenal job running the offense while Ava Weaver was on the mend after having foot surgery in late spring. We should also have a solid defense with Allie Beun, Grace Keim and Lilly Goings returning. I feel confident that we will get some major contributions from Alayna Yoder, Callie Kaufman, Caroline Malicky, Lehla Schlabach and Addison Starn in the front row and Ellie Miller, Alexa Troyer and Josalyn Varga on defense.”
West Holmes
The Lady Knights will be a bit inexperienced to start the year, but second-year coach Hanse Cromer expects his team to be competitive this season.
“This year’s team does not have the experience of last year’s,” said Cromer, whose team finished 7-17 overall and fifth in the Ohio Cardinal Conference with a 5-9 record last season. “We are only returning three starters. This year’s team brings a new setter and two new middle hitters. This year’s team will have to use ball control and relentless defense to win games this season, whereas last season we had a very strong offense.”
West Holmes returns three letterwinners — seniors Zaylie Shultz (OH) and Sophie Oliver (OH/DS) and junior Allie Snyder (OH) — while five promising newcomers — senior Taelor Patterson (MH); juniors Greta Rolince (RSH), Brooklyn Lydic (MH) and Jasi Weber (DS); and sophomore Maggie Ryan (S) — also are expected to be contributors.
Cromer expects his team’s strengths to be a positive attitude, a strong work ethic and volleyball intelligence. As for potential concerns, Cromer doesn’t expect his team to be overpowering offensively.
Cromer envisions his team faring well in the OCC this season.
“I expect us to be very competitive with all of the OCC teams, and I expect we can finish second or third,” he said.
Loudonville
The Lady Redbirds have some holes to fill this year after losing several key contributors from last year’s outstanding team.
“(We will be different from last season because) we lost five major players from last year’s team, even though we do have letterwinners returning,” said third-year coach Jackie Arnold, whose team finished 20-4 overall and won the Mid-Buckeye Conference with a 10-0 record last season. “Our level of experience is just younger, and we have a lot of gelling to do and chemistry to build. Our energy and excitement are still there though.”
Returning letterwinners include seniors Payton VanSickle (S), Olyvia Fenton (L), Maddy Denslow (OH), Payton Barnett (MB), Sadie Kline (DS) and Mikala Humphrey (DS) and junior Chloe Ganson (RS). They’ll be joined by promising junior newcomers Maya Heffelfinger (OH), Sophie Lee (MB), Lily Carr (MB) and Rylee Kline (DS).
“Our (team) strengths include our energy and our enthusiasm,” Arnold said. “We have the ability to be positive, and that helps our game. We have aggressive, dynamic serving. We also have one of the best setters (VanSickle) in the area, as she finished seventh last year in Div. III, earning 783 assists.”
Inexperience to start the season is a concern for the Lady Redbirds.
“For the most part, we expect our weakness at the beginning of the season to be our lack of experience,” Arnold said. “We are a young team. It hurt us to lose five key players. We are confident with our returning letterwinners. They are just young and inexperienced. We are also excited for our newcomers, but they are young too.”
Loudonville hopes to end its time in the MBC with another conference championship.
“This is our last year in the MBC before moving to the KMAC, so we hope to finish first in it again,” Arnold said.
Garaway
The Lady Pirates don’t return much experience this season, but they do have a team filled with athletic potential.
Seniors Jordyn Keim (OH) and Morgan Ryan (MH) and junior Morgan Schlabach (OH) are Garaway’s only returning letterwinners. Promising newcomers expected to make some noise this season include juniors Cora Head (MH/OH), Kaitlyn Mast (L/DS) and Jazzy Miller (OPP) and sophomore Maya Gross (S).
“The Lady Pirates will sport a young team with only three returning letterwinners from 2022,” said sixth-year coach Jessica Schwartz, whose team finished 14-11 overall and fourth in the IVC South with a 5-7 record last season. “But our athleticism and determination have helped us make great strides so far this preseason. We continue to improve each day and are excited to compete in the strong IVC South conference. Our challenging schedule, both league and nonleague, always prepares us well for postseason play.”
Waynedale
Even though Waynedale finished third a year ago in the Wayne County Athletic League, the Golden Bears sharpened their postseason claws and captured a district title to advance to the Sweet 16.
In 2023, under head coach Jen Lauber, the Bears appear to be ready to make another run.
Lauber’s four returning senior letterwinners include defensive specialist Audrey Rowe, outside hitter Addesa Miller and middle hitter Alyssa Geiser — all set to collect their fourth varsity letters — and setter Meghan Miller, who will earn her third.
Toss in returning letterwinners Callie Wolfe, Kylie Geiser and Jorjia Persinger, all sophomores who earned varsity time as freshmen, along with varsity newcomers in seniors Chloe Tullis and Destiny Valek and freshman Isabella Perry, and Waynedale is ready to roll.
“We will depend heavily on teamwork and trust, and we also have a strong group of seniors who possess great leadership ability,” said Lauber, entering her 32nd season overall and fourth at Waynedale, where she took over for the late Jodi Shilling.
Lauber, who coached Shilling in her first coaching job at Smithville, has taken eight teams to the state Final Four during stints at Tusky Valley, Mansfield Madison and Ontario. She ranks in the top 10 all-time for wins in Ohio volleyball history with more than 600.
“We will strive for continuous improvement and consistency,” she said about this year’s squad. “We are inexperienced playing together, but I look forward to seeing lots of improvement.”
Lauber thinks the Bears will be better defensively, and she’s counting on Meghan Miller to run a quick, smart offense.
In the league Lauber said Smithville has everyone back from its league titlist of a year ago, including hitter Naomi Keib and setter Taryn Fath, and called the Smithies the favorite. Chippewa also has a lot of talent back, setting up yet another multi-team battle.
Triway
Under new coach London Gilbert last year, the Triway Titans just missed 20 wins and a league title, finishing 19-6 and 12-2 in the Principals Athletic Conference, one game behind PAC winner Tuslaw.
The Titans lost a talented senior class to graduation, but Gilbert welcomes back another strong batch of 12th-graders — all of whom lettered as juniors.
“Although both teams possess tremendous amounts of talent, I feel this year we have a little more all-around depth,” Gilbert said when asked how this year’s squad would differ from a year ago. “In addition to having a much larger team than last year, we also have a few more players that have the capability to play multiple positions on the court. This will only work to our advantage as we will be able to be more creative with our positioning and lineups.”
Back for their senior season in purple are middle and outside hitter Emma Corbett, outside hitter/setter/defensive specialist Kaylee Davis, libero Mia Dubendorfer, outside hitter Presley Hamilton, middle/outside hitter and defensive specialist Hanna Massaro, and middle/outside hitter Lexi Starr. Newcomers to the varsity expected to contribute are freshman setter Taylor Mathis and sophomore hitter Audrey Walton.
In Starr, Davis, Massaro and Corbett, Gilbert has a solid quartet that will be the foundation of the Titans.
Davis had 217 kills last season while Starr had 179 and Corbett 112.
“All of these seniors have exceptional athletic ability and have worked very hard to become smart and versatile volleyball players,” Gilbert said. “They each have the ability to be a difference maker every match.”
With no juniors currently in the program — there are 11 sophomores and 11 freshmen — Gilbert will rely heavily on her six seniors on and off the court.
“The six seniors have a lot of varsity experience and tremendous leadership qualities, so that will be an asset,” she said. “I think it will be important for our team to be very fluid and open to adapting to our opponents in regards to our lineups and strategies. So being very flexible but settling in quickly in a variety of lineups will be key.
“We will need to be mentally strong and confident in what we can accomplish together, in every situation.”