By Chris Parker
Lebanon volleyball fielded a fairly young team last year with just three senior seeing varsity playing time. The Yellowjackets won 18 matches to extend their streak of seasons above .500 to nine.
“We learned a lot last season and we continue to be learners now,” Lebanon head coach Jenny Collins said. “What I have found most enlightening about the group this summer is their ability within struggles to stay positive and completely change the momentum of the game. We have played some really good competition over the summer months challenging us in all aspects of the game. Sometimes it takes us just stepping back, regrouping and not trying to over complicate things. Instead of focusing too much on our opposition we have to turn our attention to ourselves making sure that we are doing the things that we set out to do and the things that we are good at.”
Addy Rebmann returns for her junior season after her second first-team all-conference selection in as many years.
Her game has continued to evolve and go to the next level.
“Addy (Rebmann) is much more confident in her serve receive game and welcomes the opportunity to pass before transitioning to be a hitter,” Collins said. “She has also developed in her ability to effectively attack from the back row. Last season the back row attack primarily came when we were out of system, but now we are able to incorporate her more within an in-system ball. She has spent much of the off-season playing consistently against a high level of competition and has improved in not only defending the opposition but finding ways to be successful against them as well.”
Rebmann led the team with 431 kills averaging five kills per set. She will be a six-rotation outside hitter and left back on defense.
“Addy will need to be a continued offensive threat for our team,” Collins said. “We will look for her to bring leadership not only in her abilities offensively but defensively as well. As an upperclassman and our top all-around player, we will look for her to bring mental toughness to the court and shoulder some of the pressure as there is no doubt that we will face challenges and adversities throughout the season and will need her to give support and guidance to her teammates as needed.”
Addy Collins comes back after a strong defensive season where she led the team in digs (328) and serve receptions (468). She earned honorable mention all-conference honors. She will primarily play middle back, but has the ability to play anywhere on the back row.
“Addy is quick on her feet and is making solid reads in defending the attack. She isn’t hesitant at chasing down a ball and does what she can to keep a ball in play. She is our top vocal communicator on the floor and her constant communication benefits us. She continues to work on her SR passing angles to deliver a more consistently placed ball,” Collins said.
Saylor Helton is a another versatile weapon returning for Lebanon. She earned second-team all-conference honors last season finishing second on the team in kills with 187, digs with 268 and serve receptions with 412.
“She makes smart decisions out on the court that allow her to be a factor even when she is outsized at the net. She isn’t our hardest put away hitter, but she’s an effective attacker because she has developed solid off-speed tools, uses the blocks and finds holes on the court. More impressive is her defensive play. She anticipates and reads hitters well and makes some incredibly tough defensive plays look easy,” Collins said. “She saw six rotations in the line-up last season, and I foresee that to be similar again this season. Last year, she was young in terms of varsity experience, but this season being an experienced junior we expect her to be a continued factor in our successes. We need her to be a consistent force out on the floor that we can turn to when facing struggles and adversity, one that can bring us back in to our intended element of play.”
Seniors Raylee Quick (MH) and Ciarira Keeney (RS) and junior Morgan Durbin (setter) also return for Lebanon.
Collins on Quick: “She brings experience in the middle from last season at the varsity level. She continues to become more confident in her ability as we work transitions from middle blocker to attacker. We will look for her to be one of our top blockers this season.”
Collins on Keeney: “Last season, Ciaria attacked from the right side pin. She is primarily playing in that position this summer but shows versatility and can swing from the outside and middle. Ciaria is strong, athletic and agile and has grown in consistency and we look for her to step up her senior season to be a terminator on the ball.”
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Collins on Durbin: “Morgan saw playing time at the varsity level last season for about 1/3 of our season when we ran a 6-2 offense. She has built some nice setter-hitter relations over the summer months with her teammates and we will look for her to captain the ship this upcoming season. She is confident in her abilities and works to deliver a ball that helps us to run a faster offense. She’s a gritty athlete who loves to compete.”
Newcomers to watch include seniors Ella Goforth and Sadie Douglas along with junior Kaidynce Buttram and Rille Jacketson.
Collins on Goforth: “Ella primarily attacks from the RS pin. She jumps well and has grown in confidence over the off-season months and has shown that she can be an effective hitter when called upon.”
Collins on Douglas: “Sadie is one of our setters and plays a solid back row. She has an even-tempered personality that allows her to stay focused in tight match situations and bring that calmness amongst her teammates.”
Collins on Buttram: “Kaidynce will be in the middle opposite of Raylee Quick. She has improved tremendously in her blocking to attacking transitions. She likes receiving a quick ball out of the middle to force the opposition to defend her fully which will in turn take pressure off our pins allow them to get more one on one opportunities.”
Collins on Jacketson: “Rilee is a player who has shown versatility on the court this summer. She has played both pin positions as well as positions along the back row. She isn’t very big, but she jumps incredibly well and is quick to the ball and has a fast arm swing. When given the opportunity, we will look for Rilee to bring a spark to the court.”
Defense will lead the way for Lebanon this season.
“We take a lot of pride in our defense and spend a lot of time working to be the best defensive team that we can be,” Collins said. “Staying disciplined in our defensive drops and transitioning correctly off of the net as off-side blocker are drilled every day. Learning to work off of what our blockers take away and making good reads are important in the efforts of our defensive players. We have several players who aren’t afraid of the defensive grind and making some great plays in keeping the ball alive. I think this is one of our biggest strengths and makes us fun to watch play.”
Improving the serve-receive will be a priority for Lebanon.
“Serve receive is always a big area of focus for us,” Collins said. “We will define further our top passers and work lane and seam responsibilities so that we can hopefully earn more first ball side outs. It will be critical when in serve receive that we are playing the serve correctly so that we can more effectively transition into offense and give our team an advantage.”
The more effective serve-receive will ideally lead to a more diverse offense after Rebmann and Helton accounted for 49% of the team’s kills last season.
“We are also going to need to take pressure off of our outside pins Addy and Saylor and will need to spread out our offense more of our attackers to step in and terminate the ball at a higher rate,” Collins said. “Our middles will need to have a stronger presence at the net. Through our summer months play, I have definitely seen steps taken towards these improvements and I think with the kids we have in these positions that they are ready to take on the challenge.”
Lebanon will travel to Central for a jamboree on Aug. 23 with the host Bulldogs, Strafford and Hollister. The Yellowjackets opens the regular season on Aug. 26 at the Branson Invitational.
“Expectations are high for this year’s team,” Collins said. “We expect ourselves to compete strongly every time we step on the court and also within both the Ozark Conference and our district play. We overall aren’t young in experience this year, so these upperclassmen have set high goals not only for themselves but as a team. They aren’t content with any prior successes and don’t take defeats lightly. We play a very competitive schedule and will bring a respect everyone while fearing no one mentality to the court.”
