By Chris Parker
Gainesville volleyball returns five starters from last season’s four-win team, which was just the second season for Gainesville volleyball’s return.
“I look forward to putting a more polished and advanced group of girls on the court this season,” Gainesville head coach Kenzee Ellison said. “This is only our third year of volleyball at Gainesville, but I see a lot of potential in this group. I want to see these girls winning games and finding confidence in this sport. That’s not something they’ve found in the past two years. I expect to play a higher level of volleyball than we’ve played thus far in our short (recent) volleyball history at Gainesville.”
Gentry Blackburn, a setter, is the lone returning senior.
“Gentry is a natural leader for our team and has put in a lot of off-season work to get better in her role as our setter,” Ellison said. “This will be her third season in this position, which has allowed her to get comfortable and own her role. Gentry also volunteered her time the last two years to help coach the junior high team, which has allowed her to see a whole new side to the sport and have a better understanding of the game as a whole.”
Hadley Warden, Lilly Winrod and Lilly Hejdak are three returning juniors.
“Hadley Warden has been working hard this off-season to improve her skills as an outside hitter. She’s scrappy and does what it takes to make a play,” Ellison said. “Lilly Winrod is taking on a new role this season. She’s moving to a middle hitter position, and I’m excited to see her improve and challenge herself in that role. She’s developed a wicked serve over the off-season that will be a valuable tool for our team. Lilly Hejdak is our returning libero, a spot she earned mid-season last year. She has had a chance to zone in on the skills of her position this off-season and has grown as a player.”
Addie Alms, a sophomore, rounds out the returning players.
“Addie played as an outside hitter last season but will also take on a new role as a middle hitter,” Ellison said. “Addie is a dominant player. She was awarded all-conference honorable mention last season as a freshman, and I look for her to be even more dominant this season. Addie has worked hard this off-season as well to take on her new position and I’m impressed with how easy she makes the transition look. I’m excited for our team to develop enough that we are able to utilize Addie in a role to really showcase her dominance on the net.”
Sophomore Carly Blank will look to step up to the varsity level after playing outside hitter on JV last season.
“She (Blank) rarely missed an open gym all off-season and looks like a different player going into this season,” Ellison said. “I’m excited to see what her quick feet and scrappy mindset will do on varsity. She will likely be an outside hitter for varsity. She is small, but mighty.”
Freshmen will work to compete for varsity sets as well.
“We are lucky to have our five returning starters, but also to have a strong class of incoming freshman girls,” Ellison said. “Our junior high team had a very successful season last year due to the hard work and skill of this year’s freshman class and they are breathing new life and a competitive spirit into our gym. As a new program, this years’ freshman class will be the first class to play a full six seasons by their senior year. The last two years we really had to focus on the very basics. We ran the most basic rotations and didn’t have a lot of specialization in positions to the strengths of each player. This off-season we put in a lot of time in the gym to start learning a more advanced rotation. We look better each time we step on the court. I’m excited to see where playing a higher skill level of volleyball will take us.”
Gainesville opens the regular season on Aug. 31 at the Koshkonong Tournament.
