By Chris Parker
Marionville volleyball has a new head coach in Krystal Allen this year. Allen has previous head coaching experience at Bolivar. She also has more than 10 years of club coaching experience.
She was an assistant in the Marionville program each of the past two seasons.
“My sister originally worked at Marionville and got the head coach position two years ago. She called me asking to be her assistant coach which also led to me obtaining the business teaching position at Marionville. I have fallen in love with this school and the students and players. There is some major potential in the future of Comet volleyball. These girls are passionate and hungry for success. The administration and parents are incredibly supportive which makes a huge impact on the program as well,” Allen said.
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Senior middles Shelby Webb and Madsion Essary will be team leaders for the Lady Comets.
“They have stepped up and made huge commitments this summer and are dedicated to seeing their program succeed,” Allen said. “They are working hard in the weight room and on the court which sets high expectations and strong examples for the rest of the program.”
Essary earned second-team all-conference honors last season. She had 97 kills and 21 blocks. Webb tied Essary for the team lead in blocks with 21 while adding 69 kills.
Junior outside hitter Jeslyn Coker will enter her second year on varsity with an improved game.
“She (Coker) has been training in the weight room year round and I have already seen major increases in her strength and explosiveness. She can play anywhere across the net,” Allen said.
Lucy Newberry (sophomore outside hitter) and Hannah Phillips (sophomore setter/defensive specialist) also return for their second seasons on varsity.
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Newcomers include: Kristlyn Smith (junior right side/defensive specialist), Zailee Holder (sophomore defensive specialist), Jana Fulp (sophomore setter/right side) and Katlin Carr (sophomore outside hitter/right side).
“These girls are so hungry, motivated, and passionate for success on the volleyball court. They have strong work ethics and great attitudes,” Allen said. “We have had the largest and most consistent summer workout attendance we have had in years. Half of our team is sophomores so we are young, but they are driving themselves and their teammates to improve every time they step on the court and in the weight room.”
The Lady Comets will have to be better at hitting if they are to reach double-digit victories for the first time since 2016.
“I would say we need to improve at the net. Our hitting efficiency has been low the last few years so we will be working on being more consistently aggressive at the net. This will involve working on faster transitions and more consistent setter-hitter connections,” Allen said.
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Last year, Missouri switched from a best-of-three to a best-of-five set format, which was an adjustment for teams all over the area.
“Mentality is huge. If your team isn’t mentally tough or prepared, you won’t be successful in sets 3-5. The girls have to keep each other going throughout the match physically, mentally, and emotionally,” Allen said. “We definitely do more conditioning throughout practice. We also do more mental toughness drills and have them compete after being worn out. We will have to be more conservative about which players we play all the way around. Six rotations for five sets can be exhausting.”
Marionville will host Crane, Diamond and Monett for a jamboree on Aug. 23.
“I expect us to be smarter defenders and more aggressive hitters. We will be stronger because of so many returning players and their work ethics and should pull out some additional wins this year,” Allen said.
Marionville opens the regular season on Aug. 28 at the Verona Tournament.
