Volleyball Season Opens At Home Next Tuesday
n is set to kick off next week as they host Powers Lake on Tuesday, Sept. 2 with A, B and C squads set to play starting at 5:00 p.m. The annual Hazen Tournament will follow on Saturday, Sept. 6.
This year’s team starts out with 28 players for the first week of practice, down slightly from last year. The team lost three seniors to graduation last year. They also lost some of the other players from last year as some have changed sports and others just chose not to return. They gained eleven this year from the freshmen class, some of whom were moved up as eighth graders last year at the end of the season. The junior high teams stay high with approximately 30 players out again this year.
There are changes for the Blue Jays this year as volleyball has now joined basketball in the three class system across the state. Stanley will be in the Class A division, just as it is in basketball. That means that they will be playing some different teams this year as they enter their new region. They are also keeping some of the now Class B teams on the schedule, including Powers Lake, Tioga, Ray and Berthold. Some of that comes because of scheduling complications but it also allows them to keep some of the familiar competition and matches closer to home. Stanley and New Town are the only ones in the immediate area that made the change to Class A with New Town in a different region. The Blue Jays are part of Region 3.
Head coach Nikki Heinle says the schedule is set up this year with matches against Powers Lake and Ray, along with the Hazen and Glenburn tournaments before they start region matchups. She says that will allow them to get more experience, especially with so many young players on the roster. They went to a scrimmage last Saturday in Berthold, taking 24 of the 28 players because they wanted to see them play and find out where they fit in the rotations as the season gets underway.
After graduating three seniors last year, there are two seniors on this year’s team in Tylie Johnson and Hannah Warta. They are joined by juniors Justice Belstad, McKenzie Bohrer, Karley Jemtrud, McKenna Jones, Danielle Martin, Annie Roise, Salomeea Simen and Brenna Wenger; sophomores Lizbeth Garcia, Marli Honrud, Jacee Johnson, Payton Lystad, Taya Niemitalo, Natalia Rodriguez and Jozey Sorenson; and freshmen Maycee Copeland, Rio DeTienne, Mia Fierros, Dani Hermanson, Khloe Jemtrud, Jessa Longmuir, Kennedi Murphy, Jessy Roise, Jaylee Snyder, Ava Stafslien and Taelynn Wollesen.
Practices started on Monday, Aug. 18 and players found practices include running a mile again this year. Heinle says that it is a way build endurance. This started last year as Heinle said she felt like they should have done more to improve that when they saw matches go to five sets. She says that they had a lot of four and five game sets and that players can lose energy and stamina. That affects the outcome of games and causes unforced errors. She hopes the addition of running helps add to that stamina.
One week into practice, Heinle says she is excited. With nine or ten players back with varsity experience from last year, she is also seeing good things from over the summer that have transferred into the gym. They had team camp and participated in the DesLacs League over the summer. That has added to the improvement for players. She says that the girls are also very flexible and able to play in a variety of positions, which will allow them to be a well rounded and knowledgeable team as they get into the season.
Meanwhile, they continue to work on communication, confidence and consistency. These three things will be important for players. Heinle says that sometimes they underestimate themselves and these will be key to build on in practice and on the field. That will come into play as they push themselves to take the next step in their new season. Consistency will be a focus in practice and game prep, putting it into action on game days.
It is hard for Heinle to say who will come out on top in the region this year, especially as they will be facing new teams. Moving up a division will mean the Blue Jays need to step up. They will face DLB, South Prairie, Nedrose and Bottineau twice during the season in home and away matches. They will only play Rugby and Turtle Mountain one time during the season. They have also added the Devils Lake Tournament to their schedule, which will allow them to see a whole new group of teams. This is a sixteen team format.
This year’s change also means longer travel for some matches, which Heinle says will likely mean less student sections at away games. At home games, she is hoping they can find ways to hype up the crowd to build school pride for students and the community. She hopes to see good crowds showing up to support the Blue Jays in all areas of athletics.
Heinle is joined on the sidelines this year with assistant coaches Leah Aberle and Jasmynn Halvorson.