Lady Pirates look to senior leadership

By JASON BLASCO 

Lake County Leader 

The Polson volleyball team has its collective eye on one specific goal as they prepare to enter the 2016 volleyball season: qualifying for state.

“Our goal right now is to make it to state because Polson hasn’t been to state in like six or seven years,” Pirates’ senior Chadelle Smith said.

Smith said she felt they will have to win key conference matches against perennial state contenders White Fish and Columbia Falls in order to achieve their goal. She felt one advantage the Pirates will have this season is team experience and leadership.

“Three of our four seniors have played at the varsity level since our freshman year so we are prepared,” Smith said. “When you move up to varsity level (as a freshman), it’s such a different game and you just get so much better playing with those older girls.”

Senior Lauren Lefthand agreed with Smith’s assessment that experience will be the key to be able to overhaul the top two conference teams from last season.

“The experience helps a lot when playing with the upper classsmen and gives you more practice to be able to grow up when you are a senior,” Lefthand said. “Right now, all of us are playing together as a team and we have learned to always be working hard and trust your teammates. We just need to keep our goals in mind and have that mindset (we are going to make it to state) and fight every day to get there.”

Senior Hayley Fyant said she felt the team really started to build a strong team dynamic towards the end of last season that may carry over into this season.

“I think last year, at certain points, we were more focused on ourselves instead of the team,” Fyant said. “This year, I think we have developed more of a chemistry, honestly.”

Fyant, who readily admits its surreal making it to her senior season, said she felt it is critical for the upper classmen to lead the younger players.

“We just have to keep pushing forward towards our goals and make sure that we work together,” Fyant said.

In order for the Pirates to win its conference, Patty Luetzen said she knows her team will have to overcome a height disadvantage to taller teams like White Fish and Columbia Falls.

Despite the deficit in height to those teams, Luetzen said her Pirates’ line will compensate in speed.

“We aren’t a tall team (compared to Columbia Falls and White Fish) but I would challenge any of those teams with our speed that we have because we would beat them in a relay race,” Luetzen said. “We are going to take our strengths and put it right at them. Our team has strong servers and I am just really happy with the positiveness and attitude at the beginning of the season.”

One area Luetzen, whose team lost six seniors last season, prides herself in is taking athletes from other sports and converting them to volleyball.

“We like to take a look at the kids after they played a season of softball and track, and it’s amazing their progression when you get an extra season of volleyball with them,” Luetzen said. “We have players from the relay and jumping team and I am really anxious to see them play volleyball at the beginning of the season.”

Luetzen also credits her assistant coaches Lizzy Cox, a former NCAA Division-I player from Eastern Washington, and Kevin Owen, a former University of North Carolina Tarheel wrestler, for bringing intensity to the Pirates’ practices.

Despite a new lineup, Luetzen said she has seen a positive team dynamic already developing.

“We have a completely new lineup and it’s just a different look than we ever thought,” Luetzen said. “I am really more concerned with the end results. We will test our younger players and veterans, and hope to get a lot of game experience later on in the season.”

Vikings ready for another competitive season

The Charlo Vikings don’t boast of a big lineup headed into the 2016 season but what they lack in height, they will be able to compensate for, according to their head coach Cammie Evenson.

“I tell the girls all of the time I wouldn’t trade any of them for a 6-footer,” Evenson said. “The girls are just hard working and smart. Whatever we’ve dealt with (in lack of height), we’ve been able to make up the difference.”

Evenson admits she isn’t afraid to get some of the younger players acclimated to the pace of varsity play.

“I think this year we are going to try to have a long-term goal so when it comes tournament time, we are at our peak and our best,” Evenson said. “We are young again this year. I think the way we played at the end of last year, we want to do well at District because last year we didn’t get to where we wanted to be.”

Evenson said she felt the Vikings are very focused on achieving their goals, headed into this season.

The Vikings will return two key contributors Kaitlin Cox and Cheyenne Nagy this season.

“I’ve been really impressed with the first week of practice,” Evenson said. “We have put in a lot of time in the off season in order to improve our team and to try to get past (where we finished last season).”

Scarlets aim for post season success

The Arlee volleyball team returns a number of returning starters from last season’s team that finished the season with a record of 14-4, finished second in District, and lost their first two matches in Divisional.

“This year the kids have been really upbeat and don’t want to leave practice,” Arlee High School Coach Lonnie Morin said.

Morin, whose team will have two players over 6-feet tall and will boast of a very tall lineup, said she is optimistic with the type of work ethic her team has demonstrated thus far this season.

This season they will have to get used to a new setter but Morin is optimistic they will have another great season.

“Right now, it’s a great atmosphere and everyone that is a part of this team is having a good experience,” Morin said. “That is one of my main goals as a coach this season.”

Lady Bulldogs look to improve

The St. Ignatius volleyball team looks to improve on last season’s 0-18 season.

This year, the Lady Bulldogs have reason to be optimistic as they will get a new player from the country of Italy, who according to Coach Kendell Baldwin has already improved the team significantly.

Baldwin is optimistic her Lady Bulldogs will finish better than last season.

“I feel like it’s going to be a lot different this year than last year,” Baldwin said. “I think we have a great chance to be one of the top four teams this year. We are just going to try out a rotation and go from there. I feel like it’s going to be a fun season.”

According to Baldwin, the big difference between this season and last season is the strength of their hitters.

“It is a huge difference because we have some upcoming freshman that are tall and powerful,” Baldwin said. “We also have some hitters that we didn’t have last year.”