By Chris Parker
Wheaton volleyball won 23 matches last year, which was the most for the program since winning 24 matches and a district title in 2016.
The Bulldogs will have a district title on their minds with four varsity starters returning this year.
“Experience will be one of this team’s biggest strengths,” Wheaton head coach Robert Creekmore said. “We have multiple players who have played varsity ball since their freshman year. They earned a share of the very tough Ozark 7 Conference last season and came up just short of a district championship. We are a very good defensive team and we will rely heavily on doing whatever it takes to keep balls off the floor to force teams into making mistakes.”
At the head of that returning group is senior setter Lily Ray. She earned first-team all-conference and all-district honors after distributing 412 assists last year.
“This will be her (Ray’s) third year starting in the setter role and she is consistently one of our hardest workers,” Creekmore said. “Along with running our offense, we are looking for Lily to become more offensive minded to keep opposing defenses on their toes.”
Allison Whitman is a senior outside hitter and libero who has lettered each of the past three years. She had a team-high 349 digs in 2021 on her way to second-team all-district and honorable mention all-conference honors.
“She is one of our best passers and led our team in digs last season,” Creekmore said. “She has one of the best serves on our squad and we look forward to seeing her develop offensively.”
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Senior outside hitter Jenny Par gives the Bulldogs a third returning senior to lean on.
“Jenny is a primary passer and is one of our better attackers,” Creekmore said. “She will see a significantly higher number of sets this season and I know she will rise to the challenge.”
Junior middle hitter Jianna Cha is the final returning starter. She earned second-team all-conference and honorable mention all-district honors last year. Cha is the team’s leading returning hitter coming back with 197 kills from 2021.
“Jianna was second on our team in kills last season as a sophomore, and will be one of our primary attackers this season,” Creekmore said. “She is also an excellent passer and will pass in most rotations.”
Senior Zoey Martell will be looking to see an expanded role on varsity this year after playing in 19 of 83 sets last year.
“Zoey is a versatile player who can play about any position along the front row,” Creekmore said. “She also has a very effective serve that we will be looking to utilize this season.”
Juniors Hailey Vandegrift and Rebecca Zingcuai along with freshman Neveah Crandall will also be competing for varsity time.
“Hailey has worked hard in the off-season and is improving as a right side attacker. Rebecca was our JV setter last season but she can compete in many different areas. Neveah is one of our tallest players and will be training as a middle blocker,” Creekmore said.
This group will look to be stronger at finishing matches in the fourth and fifth sets.
“One area for improvement is finishing teams when we have a lead,” Creekmore said. “We have a tendency to want to relax or lose focus when we get a big lead. The district championship match was a perfect example of this. We held big leads in the fourth and fifth sets but were unable to finish. I believe our girls learned from this experience and will come back ready to prove to themselves that they can finish when the game is on the line.”
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Wheaton opens the regular season on Aug. 26 at Chadwick.
“Coming off a 23-5 year last season, expectations are high,” Creekmore said. “We always look at hitting that 20-win mark, as well as competing for an Ozark 7 conference championship, and a district championship. The girls have a lot of confidence coming in and I look forward to seeing them work towards their goals.”
