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Coach looks back at W-F volleyball season

In 1895, William G. Morgan invented the sport of volleyball.

He designed the game to be a combination of basketball, baseball, tennis and handball. The first volleyball net was only 6’6″ high. Other significant events for the sport of volleyball include a special ball being designed in 1900, three hits per side allowed in 1920, being introduced in the Olympics at the Tokyo games in 1964 and the position of libero introduced in 1998.

Today, the remarkable ability of athletes that participate in this sport can leave you awestruck. If you had a chance to watch the Weyauwega-Fremont Indians this season, you certainly would have been on the edge of your seats.

As a team, they entered the top 10 ranking at eighth for kills with 786, tied with the 2007 squad. They also left their mark as a team for service points coming in at sixth with 989.

Two seniors entered themselves into the record books in the categories of kills, assists, aces, service points, digs, block kills and kill points. A sophomore set the pace for kill points with a junior not far behind. A junior turned into a monster and gave her team such uplifting motivation at the peak of their season. Only if you saw her at the beginning of the season would you understand.

Two defensive specialists battled for the position of libero and became the two best ball control players in the conference. There is one more milestone worth mentioning. After working with some amazing young ladies as a coach, I have reached my 400th career victory. Will there be more? Who knows? Right now, the season is over with some time to think and rejuvenate.

The Lady Indians finished with 21 wins and 7 losses, a .750 win percentage, 10-1 at home, 3-1 away, and 8-5 at neutral sites, and 11-0 for league play. Collectively, they served almost 1,200 times, scoring over 1020 points. They attacked the ball 2,212 times earning 824 kills, received nearly 2000 serves, blocked the opponents’ attack attempts over 150 times, set over 2,000 times and dug 1,343 attack attempts. As a team, they served 85 percent, averaged 4.8 block kills per match, 48 digs per match, nine assists per set, 70 receives per match and 9.9 kills per set.

Finishing with a loss is not how anyone wants to finish their season. However, taking this loss was pretty easy to deal with when it came right down to being able to coach this group of fine young ladies. Let’s take a look at each one of them as individual players that made this team such a success.

Sophomores

• No. 18, Genna Knorr, setter. “G” receives varsity recognition. G will be a great asset to the roster her next two seasons. She has a great set of hands and can also play the front row.

• No. 16, Becky Schroeder, outside hitter. Becky receives her second varsity letter in volleyball, is co-best hitter with 2.9 kills/set and 228 kills for the season. She has also been voted as team captain for the 2015 season and was voted by CWC-8 coaches as an honorable mention player. Becky is loaded with fire and potential. She plays with finesse and is just plain beautiful to watch. We can’t wait to see what the next two years bring for Becky. Becky had an effect on our fans and her team and we could all see that when we lost her to an injury just before the regional finals. She is exciting to watch.

• No. 21, Hannah Sroka, libero/defensive specialist. Hannah creates a great little spark on the floor when it comes to defense. She is competitive and always pushes others to step up their game by challenging them on a daily basis. Hannah earns her first varsity letter and co-best digger. Hannah has a great attitude and is going to have two more amazing seasons.

• No. 26, Hailey Krause, outside hitter and utility. Hailey receives her varsity letter. She is an incredible leader for us. She does not shy away from competition and is incredibly determined to succeed. Hailey isn’t afraid to say it like it is and also holds her own as a coaching assistant. She is second in ace serves and we actually clocked her best serve at 48 mph. We are definitely looking forward to her next two years on the varsity.

Juniors

• No. 1, Courtney Gorges, libero/defensive specialist. Courtney earns her varsity letter, co-best digger and 2015 team captain. She was also voted by CWC-8 coaches as a first team all-conference libero. Courtney led the team in digs and receives. She really came into her own this season as she began to collect bruises and floor burns like they were medals of honor. We can’t wait to see Courtney and Hannah bring their ball control skills back next season. They make quite a pair and will dominate the defense and receive.

• No. 7 Alyssa Goode, right side. Alyssa receives her varsity letter and has been voted as a team captain for the 2015 season. As soon as Alyssa started to believe that she could be just as good at volleyball as she is at basketball, she really became one of our biggest assets. Her stats may not show it, but her play and her reliability guaranteed us some big plays this season. Alyssa really understands her role and knows that she can also play other positions for the team is needed. We think her celebration dance is the best and look forward to seeing her shine again next season.

• No. 9, Jordan Rucks, setter. Jordan receives varsity recognition and has been voted as a 2015 team captain. Jordan was a fantastic practice player and she definitely earns the “work” award. We anticipate Jordan to be a leader during the offseason and next season’s run for another title. She is a great competitor and communicates very well on the court and from the sidelines. Next year, we look forward to her energy level out on the court as the lead setter.

• No. 10, Rachel Knorr, middle blocker. Rachel earns a varsity letter, co-best blocker and the team’s Most Improved Award. I have had many players that I have been extremely proud of in the way that they have played. Rachel is no exception. She just simply transformed into an awesome player, physically and emotionally. She honestly is so humble that she probably doesn’t have any idea of the effect that she has on her teammates when she succeeds. This is our monster, That is what we were hoping to create.

• No. 11, Karissa Akey, middle blocker/outside hitter. Karissa earns a varsity letter, co-best server with 181 points, and 90 percent serving and 24 aces. She is also a 2015 team captain and was voted by the CWC-8 coaches as a first team all-conference player. Karissa definitely has the “challenge accepted” attitude. She has a fantastic attitude, wonderful coach-ability and a super work ethic. It is no wonder her teammates see her as a captain two years in a row. Karissa stepped up and played a great middle position until we got Megan back on the floor and transitioned easily to the outside playing all the way around. She is a leader on and off the court and thrives on competition. I can’t wait to see what her senior year will bring.

Seniors

• No. 4, Taylor Miller, outside/utility. Taylor has earned her first varsity letter. Taylor by far gets the most determined to succeed recognition. Taylor is dedicated to her team and should be considered the best teammate overall. She is a hard-working player who never stopped working hard even when she was plagued by chronic shoulder pain. She came to practice every day and challenged her teammates to improve every day.

• No. 5, Miranda Potratz, setter/defensive specialist. Miranda has earned a varsity letter and CWC-8 honorable mention honors. Manni got consistently better during her time on varsity, which started as a practice player her freshman year during regional playoffs. She has found her area of strength as a defensive specialist and a setter helping the team in its bid for the title.

• No. 6, Megan Young, middle blocker/outside hitter. Megan earns her fourth varsity letter, CWC-8 second team all-conference honors, co-best hitter with 2.8 kills/set and a .342 hitting percentage, co-best blocker with 42 block kills. She also earns top 10 status for all time varsity for four years in all categories. Megan’s efforts over the last several seasons to improve her talents have not gone unnoticed. Megan is another one of those players that make hitting such a beautiful skill to watch. The great approach and the precision and power of ball placement have been a joy to watch. She has been great to coach and we wish her the best of luck as she moves on to the collegiate world to continue her volleyball career.

• No. 8, Jordan Krause, setter/right side. Jordan also earns her fourth varsity letter, CWC-8 first team all-conference honors being voted unanimously by the coaches. She also earns the Best Setter Award with 497 assists, co-best server with 217 points, 42 aces and 90-percent accuracy. Jordan has also been voted the team’s MVP for the second consecutive season. Jordan began her high school career as a middle blocker after we lost a player to an injury. Since then, she has played the right side and setter positions. Her skills at setting became the best in the conference. Jordan has been such a strength to the team for two years at the setting position that it is going to be hard to imagine not having her leading the floor. We hope that future setters take her example and do the same. Jordan took the necessary steps to make other players better, always giving teammates like Alyssa and Rachel the extra verbal boost when they needed it. Jordan’s efforts and ability will be greatly missed and we also look forward to hearing about her future volleyball career as she moves on to her collegiate opportunities.

Thank you to all the parents and players for an outstanding season. Also, thank you to my two assistant coaches, Brianne Highlander-McCoy and Kris Sroka, for all they did this season to help with the teams and to make working with them so enjoyable. Thank you to Lynn Ponto for taking the time out of her busy schedule to assist with practices in my absence and helping with preseason activities and practices. Thank you to Jeff Fahser and all the workers at the home events. And most of all, thank you to my husband Richard for his patience, listening skills and guidance through another season.

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