Fall 2017 Preview: Pierce City Volleyball

The Pierce City High School volleyball team is going through a bit of a rebuilding year in 2017.

But the Lady Eagles and fourth-year head coach Cheyenne Hill have faced this situation before.

After losing a veteran squad two years ago, Pierce City lost its first six games to kick off the 2015 season, but the Lady Eagles didn’t throw in the towel.

“We ended up being second in districts that year and finished really strong,” Hill said.

Hill sees similarities in this year’s team.

“We’re young, and we’ve got players playing in different spots,” she said. “We lost some great seniors last year, so yeah, very similar.

Pierce City has four sophomores that will see significant playing time at the varsity level. The Lady Eagles will have to replace First-Team Spring River Valley Conference selection Christine Stellwagen and second-team pick Kayla Portillo from last year’s team that went 16-14-3 after falling to Miller in a Class 1 District 8 semifinal.

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Despite those loses from last year, Hill believes the Lady Eagles have the potential to make another late-season run like they did in 2015.

“Once they mesh, and once they get used to varsity ball, I think they’ll definitely be somebody to be recognized,” she said. “They’re awesome kids and they work super hard and they listen really well.”

Leading the way for Pierce City this season is Belle Golubski. The senior has played middle hitter for the past three the years and compiled a .41 kill percentage with six kills per game in 2016. Golubski , also a solid blocker, will move to outside hitter to get her hand on the ball more.

Fellow senior Kelly Kaiser will play right-side hitter. Senior Emily Drollinger played defensive specialist last year, but will move to setter in 2017.

“Emily has stepped up really nicely into this role,” Hill said. “She has not played this position in high school, but you’d never know. She is very commanding on the floor.”

Sophomore Kenzie Portillo returns as the Lady Eagles’ starting libero, while junior Lexi Eck will play at outside hitter and in the back row after seeing some playing time at the varsity level at multiple positions last year.

New to the mix are sophomores Donielle Brottlund (MH), Jerika Brown (S), and Bella Kamplain (OH).

“My sophomore class is being forced early on to step up and take some big roles at the varsity level,” Hill said. “But they are an awesome group that I think will do a great job with the added responsibility.”

Leslie Jones, a six-rotation player, is also expected to make an impact as a freshman at middle hitter and middle back.

“I have never had an athlete that is more coach-able than her,” Hill said. I tell her something and she instantly fixes it, and this is why she’s getting such a big responsibility as a freshman.”