Accomplishing a double-digit win total last year, the Southwest volleyball team — led by four experienced seniors and one junior — aims to take it up a notch this season.
Finishing 10-19-3 last season and winning 7 of their final 10, Coach Steve Voyak said the sky is the limit as the 2024 campaign is underway.
Southwest opened the season at the Verona Tournament on Saturday, Besting Golden City but falling to Greenfield, Blue Eye, Marionville and Sarcoxie.
“It’s always exciting and hopeful at the start of any athletic season,” said Voyak, who is entering his 22nd year. “This group has a chance to be special. But it won’t come easy.
Everything will be earned.”
Five letter-winners return from last year’s squad, which, on top of the strong finish recordwise, took a 20-win Marionville team to four sets in the district quarterfinals.
Junior Marissa Freeman (145 kills and 59 aces) is the top hitter and joins four seniors — Riley Flippo, Laura Jean Henry, Montana Skelton and Kaleigh Tull — as the leadership core of the squad.
“Freeman has a season of club under her belt, so her skills have shown significant improvement,” Voyak said. “Her big drawback is consistency as she had too many serving and hitting errors. She played club ball last season and worked to improve both those skills and her passing and blocking. Over the summer, she was one of our top back-row passers and receivers and has a chance to play all six rotations. She loves the game.
“Henry, an All-Conference and All-District setter, leads the offense. She had 494 assists and made 345 of 351 serves (98.2%) a year ago. She has 13 serves in two seasons and improved her ace total to 30 last year. That’s incredible consistency. She is a strong leader but needs to become more vocal and needs to improve her chemistry and consistency with hitters and make more of an impact defensively. She has spent the summer trying to improve chemistry with hitters Freeman, Tull, Skelton, Flippo and Junior Rylee Hobbs, who was a top JV hitter last season.”
Tull has 109 kills and 22 blocks, while Skelton had 54 and 6. Flippo is moving front back row to the front and Hobbs is replacing Skelton on the right side, while she moves to the left side.
“They have worked hard to avoid errors,” Voyak said. “They have all made strides, but it has to equate to more kills or it doesn’t matter.”
Flippo also established herself as a strong server as a junior, making 95% and adding 38 aces.
“She made a significant impact as a server and passer in reception as a junior,” Voyak said. “She also had 177 receptions and 154 digs. She has earned a front row spot and will need to become more consistent with her attacking. Her speech and athleticism are assets.
“Skelton always brings a positive attitude and is always accepts coaching and criticism well,” Voyak said. “She needs to cut down on hitting and blocking errors to have more of an impact on wins and losses. Tull was part of many receive combinations during the summer and instantly became as solid passer and has a chance to play all six rotations. She has also improved her serving accuracy and made her ball more difficult to return after 30 aces as a junior. She leads by example.”
Sophomore libero Olivia Hnem leads a small group of newcomers to the varsity. Hnem and Hobbs both played sparingly on the varsity last season but showed no fear when they replaced injured players.
‘Olivia is quickly learning the pressure of being a varsity libero but she asks questions daily and really worked on her fundamentals and communication this summer,” Voyak said. “She has improved her volleyball IQ and loves to be coached. She needs to continue to build her confidence because her instincts and energy are already high level.
“Hobbs made a quick impact when she filled in on the varsity in a few matches last year. She needs to understand her role and step up when called upon. She made nice strides in the summer hitting from both the right and left side but needs to be more consistent as a hitter to make an impact on the varsity.”
Juniors Emma Outhouse and Kylee Rhodes, as well as freshman Abi Hnem, round out the varsity squad.
“Outhouse is a tireless worker who has improve her serving skills dramatically, and Hnem is quickly making the jump from middle school to high school,” Voyak said. “Outhouse Led the JV in assists and serve percentage as a sophomore. Her serve has improved significantly over the summer.
“Hmen did a nice job defensively and in reception over the summer on the varsity. She has a real chance to be a defensive specialist for the varsity but must improve her floor communication and intensity to take her game to the next level. Rhodes will provide the team with some depth.”
Voyak said the the team’s leadership has the experience, but the question remains, can they take the next step?
“The four seniors are excited about their final season, but they will need to make some subtle changes in communication and energy to get different results,” Voyak said. “Serving should be another strength. Last season we finished with 235 aces and just 134 errors and served at over 91%. We need to maintain or improve that this season.
“Communication, ball control, energy and reception all need improvement. We still make errors on easy plays in hitting, passing, setting and reception. Unless it gets better, we will struggle. These have been points of emphasis and the girls have really worked to get better in more than 35 games this summer but it has to translate when we play actual games in the fall.”
No matter the obstacles, Voyak said the Lady Trojans should expect to win.
“We need to value every touch, every point, every set,” he said “Our seniors are ready to lead but they have to do more than the usual 110%. They need to take it up a notch.”
Billings, Spokane and Crane have left the Southwest Central League this year, so only Blue Eye, Galena, Purdy and Southwest remain as a members. As it stands currently, there will be no conference champion since the four teams only play once, but there will be an All-Conference team named after the season.
Southwest has 26 girls out for volleyball, so the Lady Trojans will also play a small C team schedule.
