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Fall 2017 Preview: Mountain Grove Volleyball

By Josh Hall (josh.hall@ky3.com)

There is no doubt the Mountain Grove High School volleyball team will miss graduated seniors Emma and Rachel Loughridge.

But the Lady Panthers have several starters coming back from last season’s team that went 18-16-3 after falling to Marshfield in a Class 3, District 11 semifinal game.

“I expect us to be competitive,” head coach Amy McNew said. “We still have several things we need to get better at, but we have a lot of experience returning. I expect us to be in every match and, like I said, just be able to compete.”

McNew was quick to point out the losses of First-Team South Central Association selection Emma Loughridge and second-team pick Rachel Loughridge.

But McNew also has a lot to be optimistic about when talking about this year’s tea.

“I’m really excited about this year,” she said. “It’s a really good group of kids. I enjoy being in the gym with them.”

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Senior outside hitter and first-team all-conference selection Kasey Watson is expected to lead the Lady Panthers this season.

“She’ll be important to us,” McNew said. “She’ll have to play well for us to do well.”

Watson will be joined on the outside by junior and second-team all-conference member Kinley Collins.

Senior Emily Norris, an honorable mention all-conference selection, and junior Grace Moore will patrol the middle.

“My middle’s are really going to have to step it up this year and provide some offense for us,” McNew said.

Also returning is junior setter Marley Gourley, who earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a sophomore.

Lauren Dickey is a sophomore that could also see some action at the varsity level.

While McNew acknowledges the importance of the experience Mountain Grove brings back for the 2017 campaign, she also believes the Lady Panthers have room for improvement.

“My thing with this group here is — they’ve got to learn how to compete,” she said. “Sometimes I feel like they’re not as aggressive as they need to be. We’re trying to really emphasize just the competitiveness.

“We scrimmaged last night, and I could tell that they got a little anxious when people were in the gym. But of course, that’s just playing in front of people for the first time. They’ll figure it out. They’re going to get there.”