(Oakland) Riverside raised the bar for their volleyball program last season with a trip to the regional finals.
The Lady Dawgs, under first year head coach Brooke Flathers, are eager to make more noise this season. “We worked together with our seniors and then with our team as a whole to set some goals for the year. They are looking for a deep run especially after last year’s regional final run. That’s a definite motivator for them. We are going to push the high expectations. There’s a lot of capable girls out this year so it’ll be fun to see what they can do.”
Kenna Ford, Izzy Bluml, Ella Hensley, Veronica Andrusyshyn, and Mack Olmstead-Mitchell are all back from last year’s 26 win team. “Kenna is a big returner for us, she set for us last year. She’s a natural leader so we are looking to her to run our offense this year. We have a lot of girls who could step up for us in the front row. Izzy and Ella and Veronica and Mack all saw some playing time last year. There are a lot of young girls that are ready to step in and lead the way for Riverside volleyball.”
Coach Flathers says a faster paced offense will be the biggest change as she takes over as the head coach. “We’ve been focused on fast paced practices with high energy and really pushing the girls and getting as many reps as we can. With not knowing what this season might look like we are going to come out and compete every day as if it is our last.”
Gracie Bluml, Jadyn Achenbach, Ashlynn Amdor, and Abi Petersen are all gone to graduation, leaving some big spots to fill.
