By Chris Parker
Skyline volleyball is making a move from the Mid-Lakes Conference to the Southwest Conference starting this season. The Lady Tigers, who are coming off a 16-win season, will still have some Mid-Lakes Conference foes on the schedule.
“I believe both MLC and SWC are both very competitive in volleyball, so I think the transition will be tough just as if we were still in the MLC,” Skyline head coach Shawne Bybee said. “We have been competitive in our past conference, but those games were always tough, and I felt prepared us very well for the postseason since we were a smaller school in the MLC. What makes it tough is I have kept some of the MLC on my schedule to provide us with competition throughout the year, moving to the SWC and keeping MLC schools on our schedule; we won’t have any easy games.”
Autumn Baldwin (senior), Tymber Pinon (junior), Shelby Redd (sophomore), Leslie Caselman (sophomore) and Kimber Henderson (sophomore) all return for Skyline. Pinon (348 kills) and Baldwin (296 kills) were the leading hitters for Skyline last season. That duo was also 1-2 in blocks with Pinon posting 34 and Baldwin 14.
Jenna Hunt led Skyline is assists as a sophomore but might miss the entire season with an injury.
Shayln Owsley (senior), Gracie Johnson (sophomore), Lauren Bradley (sophomore), Mcklaren Miller (freshman), Cara King (freshman) and Payton Meade (freshman) will be newcomers to the varsity lineup.
“I think the group we have this year is going to be very competitive for playing time regardless of the grade they are in. This could provide a lot of flexibility in our lineup,” Bybee said.
Skyline will travel to Osceola for a jamboree on Aug. 22 before opening the regular season on Sept. 4 at home against Warsaw.
“Every practice starting Aug. 12 and every game needs to get us prepared for districts. We made it back to the district championship game, but these girls need to learn how to finish it now,” Bybee said. “Skyline Volleyball is always known for never giving up. I want these girls every day to live by that, overcome things as a whole, and never give up.”
