Our Volleyball Lookout spotted the Rolling Valley Conference which is a very competitive conference. With two teams competing for the top spot in the conference all season long last year, it should make out for a great volleyball season this year. These are not rankings, just looking out for the season ahead, and are in alphabetical order.
Ar-We-Va
Ar-We-Va is losing a lot of offensive talent from last season. They lost their top three best hitters from last season and their top blockers. However, they are bringing back Delaney Shurke who was their top setter and defensive digger from last season as she had 347 sets and 103 digs. Shurke also had 35 aces last season which led the team and posted a 92% serving percentage. They will be a young team on the floor this season and should be a fun team to watch.
Boyer Valley
Boyer Valley is one team that I think will be more than successful this season. Not only are they bringing back a very experienced squad from last season, but they also graduated no seniors last year. In terms of the offensive end, they are returning Jessica O’Day who had 247 kills and 43 aces. The Bulldogs are also returning Ava TenEyck with 152 kills and led the team in aces with 45. Sylvia Sulivan is also returning to the floor and led the team with 24 blocks and 149 kills as well. They are also returning junior setter Lauren Malone as she had 547 assists last year and 34 aces while earning an 86% serving percentage. Boyer Valley will be a team that if they have leadership, they will be at the top of the Rolling Valley Conference.
CAM
The Cougars are returning their two top hitters of Eva Steffensen and Emma Follman who combined for 388 kills last season. Steffensen had a total of 237 kills and 227 digs last season while posting a 94% serving percentage and led the team with 45 total blocks. Follman had 151 kills last year, 36 blocks, and 34 aces last season. Their leading setter, Breeanna Bower, leaves big shoes to fill in the setting spot this season. CAM is returning a lot of valuable talent and leadership this season when we talked to coach McDonald and will be a very competitive team to compete with this season.
Coon Rapids-Bayard
Coon Rapids is going to be returning two sophomores from last season Malia Clayburg and Aubrey Hofbauer as they combined for over 150 kills. Clayburg also posted 46 blocks last season and a 94% serving percentage. Lydia Hofauer helped last season in the back row with 191 digs while Anna Hart helped out on the side with 201. They are losing quite a bit offensively and defensively with Lacie Davis and Gracy Johnson graduated, but they will be bringing back a very talented team this season that may look a bit different on the floor than last year.
Exira-EHK
The Spartans are a team that lost their top hitter and both setters due to graduation. However, they are bringing back Jaelynn Petersen who had 129 kills last year and was tied for second on the team for aces with 29. Exira-EHK doesn’t have specific expectations this season according to head coach Derek Reischauer, but they will be a younger team getting a lot of varsity experience on the floor which could make them an interesting opponent this season.
Glidden-Ralston
Glidden-Ralston will be losing two of their top three hitters and best server from last season but will be bringing up a lot of defensive talent this season. While having no experience watching their team from last season, statistically they have a defensive strategy in every game that they play. That includes libero Tiela Janssen who had 409 digs and 35 aces last season. They are also bringing back another defensive key Addy Boell as she had 212 digs last season and helped in the serving game with a team-best 97.5% serving percentage. Summer Toms and Ashlynn Tigges both had over 180 digs each last season as well and were both over 90% from the serving line. The Wildcats will be a very good defensive team to watch this season, they will have a few holes to fill on the offensive side.
Paton-Churdan
The Rockets are a team that was mainly a combination of freshmen and seniors last season with only one sophomore and no juniors. This will be an uncertain team this season as they graduated over half the team and are only returning five players from last year, which include a junior and four sophomores. Becca Andersen and Calleigh Fitzpatrick will be returning to the floor to help on the offensive side with over 120 kills combined. Andersen will also be helping out the offensive end this season as she had 24 aces which led the Rockets last year.
West Harrison
West Harrison is bringing back star-player Maclayn Houston as she led the team in kills with 120 and in digs with 273. She also was second on the team in blocks with 29 and in aces with 31. Jaysa Lawrensen will also be helping out the Hawkeyes as she had 150 digs and was consistent from the serving line at 94%. One other player to mention for West Harrison is Tylar Stirtz as she was second on the team in digs with 155 and served at 93% on the season. The Hawkeyes will look to be consistent this season but will need to find their offensive rhythm in that consistency this season.
Woodbine
The Tigers are losing just one senior from last season and bringing back some top talent from last season both offensively and defensively. Danyelle Steinkuehler is returning as she had a team-high 135 kills and 17 blocks while also posting 36 aces last year. Setter Alex Murdock is also returning to Woodbine for her senior season as she had 290 assists, 226 digs, and tied for a team-high 57 aces. Nicole Hoefer and Katie Pryor are also returning to the team as they posted 122 and 120 kills last season. Jersey Grey will help out in the back row as she also posted 200+ digs last season with 231. Woodbine is going to be a great team this season and should be one of the better teams in the conference.
