By Chris Parker
Springfield Catholic volleyball had one of the best seasons in program history last year posting a 33-4-1 record on the way to a fourth place finish in Class 3.
The Lady Irish will look to go back to Cape Girardeau with a strong group of players returning.
“They have responded exactly the way a coach would hope they would. They are proud they went to a final four, the first in 30 years for our school, but not satisfied. They feel there is still a final chapter to be written in our book. Our top eight players play club volleyball. Some play almost every weekend, many times in other states to improve their skills. They know the odds of going to the final four in back to back years is against them. However I never doubt their determination and drive to give it a shot,” Catholic head coach Dan Evans said.
Hitting will be a strength for Catholic with three all-state hitters returning to the team.
“Having the hitters we have is huge for our team,” Evans said. “That is a huge advantage we have. Our hitters are skilled back row attackers as well. It makes it very hard to focus on any one of our hitters. There is not any rotation we have that allows the defense to let up. We are very fortunate.”
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Senior Hallie Cook is a co-captain for the team. She earned all-state honors last year after putting down 296 kills. Cook is also gifted serving the ball with 93 aces last year. The senior also contributed 337 digs.
“Hallie has the ability to make everyone around her better. Her intensity, work ethic, and desire to succeed are some of the reasons she is so valuable as a volleyball player,” Evans said. “Hallie is the true definition of a six-rotation player and can attack from anywhere on the court. Hallie will play outside and middle back on defense.”
Cheri Sabini is the team’s other captain. The senior also earned all-state honors after she finished second on the team in kills with 306 and first on the team in blocks with 61. She also had 58 aces.
“Cherie is a powerful presence in the middle,” Evans said. “Her level of intensity on the court is intimidating to opponents. Cherie also became a six-rotation player last year in part to keep her intensity on the floor as much as possible. Cherie will play middle and left back on defense.”
Junior Grace O’Reilly is the third returning all-state player. O’Reilly led the Lady Irish in kills with 359. She was second in both blocks (42) and aces (66).
“Grace continues to get better. When she walks into a gym she looks like a volleyball player,” Evans said. “She became a six-rotation player last year and is another one that can attack from anywhere on the court. Grace also brings high intensity to our side of the net. Grace will play right side and left back/right back on defense.”
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Senior Ashlyn Witthar (middle) gives Catholic a fourth returning hitter with at least 100 kills. She had 105 kills last year.
“Ashlyn didn’t play volleyball until she was a freshman. Her continued improvement has been phenomenal. Ashlyn had 105 kills last season. On many teams she would easily have 250-plus. Ashlyn is a huge plus for us. Teams are happy when Sabini rotates off the front row but lose their enthusiasm when Ashlyn starts to swing,” Evans said.
Senior Avery Ahlstrand (right side), junior Leah Zolfaghari (right side) and sophomores Ava Walters (setter) and Kennedi Roubal (defensive specialist) also return.
“I think our biggest strength is the number of skilled players we have returning, and the great team leaders we have. We had so much fun last year and we want to experience that again,” Evans said.
Freshman Kennedy Hartman is expected to make an immediate varsity impact as a defensive specialist/libero.
Last year was the first for Evans as a head coach at Catholic. The team not only had to adjust to a new head coach for a sixth consecutive season, but also adjust to Missouri going from a best-of-three to best-of-five set format for matches.
“I think we learned you can’t relax just because you win the first two sets. You have to play hard every point in every set. We were fortunate and did not play beyond three sets very often but it can make for a very long night,” Evans said. “I think the new format allows you to maybe try to play another player more in that third set if you’ve won the first two. I think learning to maintain focus is as important as any added conditioning is. Overall, I like the new format of playing the best three-of-five.”
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Catholic opens the season on Aug. 31 at home against Ava. The Lady Irish will play in the West Plains, Buffalo and Strafford Tournaments this year.
“Our overall expectations for the season are high. We have strengthened our schedule. We added the West Plains tournament in an effort to better prepare for the late season,” Evans said. “Our goal last year was to win a district championship. We achieved that and ended up at the final four. We want to go back to southeast Missouri again. There will be plenty of great teams that will want to prevent that from happening so it should be a fun season.”
