By Chris Parker
Jasper volleyball won 22 matches last year, which was the most for the program since winning 25 and a district championship in 2015.
The Eagles are poised to make a run at a district title after having just one senior and no juniors on last year’s roster and return the leader in every major statistical category.
At the head of that group are junior outside hitter Livia Dumm and sophomore middle hitter Crystal Smith. Both earned first-team all-district honors last year. Dumm was second on the team in kills with 142 while she led the team in aces with 39. Smith put down 268 kills to lead Jasper while also leading the team in blocks with 42.
Laney Cawyer (libero) and Cate Czarnecki (middle hitter) are the team’s other two returning juniors. Cawyer led Jasper in digs with 339 and serve receptions with 380 last year. Czarnecki was the team’s third-leading attacker in terms of kills with 92.
Emersyn Bass (sophomore right side hitter), Ellie Cawyer (sophomore defensive specialist) and Shiloh Storm (sophomore setter) return for Jasper. Storm led the team in assists with 341. Fellow sophomore Adi Atnip was No. 2 in assists last year with 196 assists.
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Taylor Hinds (junior middle hitter) and Alivea Roberts (freshman defensive specialist and outside hitter) will be newcomers to the varsity roster to watch.
Defense and serving will be a strength for this team.
“We’ve spent a lot of time working on defense and it paid off when we went to a volleyball camp this summer,” Jasper senior Brianna Vinson said. “Several of my returning players have aggressive serves.”
Vinson will look for her team to be more aggressive on offense and overall more mentally strong this year.
“One thing we lacked last season was running an aggressive offense and having a strong mentality when things weren’t working out,” Vinson said. “We will be working on those a lot before our first game.”
Jasper will host a jamboree on Aug. 25 before opening the regular season on Aug. 30 at Golden City.
“We were competitive at all of our tournaments last season and in districts last year, but still came short of first place,” Vinson said. “I expect to be competitive again this year.”
