Fall 2019 Preview: Pierce City Volleyball

By Chris Parker

Austin Gripka enters his first season as the head coach of the Pierce City volleyball team looking to turn around a program that won just five matches a year ago.

This is Gripka’s first head coaching job after serving as an assistant at McAuley Catholic each of the past two seasons.

Pierce City has had back-to-back five-win seasons, but was one of the area’s more consistent teams for the decade prior to that. Gripka will look to get the Lady Eagles back to their winning ways.

“We really need to focus on the fundamental volleyball skills. Pierce City has a lot of athletic female athletes that just need work on the volleyball basics to be successful. We also need to increase the volleyball IQ for the girls as only a couple kids in the program play club ball,” Gripka said.

Leslie Jones returns for her junior season after leading Pierce City in kills (105), blocks (39) and serve-receives (148) last season.

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“Leslie is a tall, athletic player that can make plays happen for us. She does a great job of being smart with the ball and hitting open spots on the floor. Leslie also does a good job of reading the other team’s hitters to line-up the block,” Gripka said. “My expectation for her this season is to continue to be a force in the front row for us. I also expect her to put the ball away when the team needs it the most. She will be a six-rotation player for us this fall, so I’m also expecting her to excel in passing in the back row.”

Seniors Jerika Brown (setter) and Donielle Brottlund (hitter/defensive specialist) along with juniors Madison Gripka (middle hitter) and Katie Tindell (hitter) return to the lineup with varsity experience.

Junior Madelyn Jones (utility), sophomores Riley Gripka (outside hitter/setter), Storie Linn (libero), Chelsey Puckett (defensive specialist), Payton Moore (hitter) and freshman Hailey Gripka (middle hitter) will be new players to the varsity level.

“I believe my team’s biggest strength this season will be hitting as well as defense. Almost all of our varsity hitters are in the 5-foot-10 to 6-foot height range that will allow us to be successful in the front row. Our defense is young, but showed lots of solid play in our summer camps,” Gripka said. “Our team will need to improve on being in system more to allow us to get more quality hitting attempts. We will also need to improve on setting and serving consistency to be successful.”

Gripka has set several goals for his team in Year One.

“My expectations for this season are to be above the .500 mark, compete for a conference and district title, and win a regular season tournament. I would also like for us to get our hitting percentage in the positive,” Gripka said.

Pierce City hosts a jamboree on Aug. 27 with Ash Grove and Pleasant Hope. The Lady Eagles open the season on Sept. 3 at Billings.