By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Galena Lady Bears took fourth place in Class 1 with 35 wins last year and now return four starters who helped lead the way.
Senior Baylee Stacy was an integral part of Galena’s first Final Four team. As a varsity player the past three years, she served as libero, but now Stacy will move to the setter position vacated by all-state graduate Bree Rice.
Stacy earned first-team all-district and all-conference honors as well as the defensive player of the year for the SWCL. “She’s done a great job as a passer and a libero,” said head coach Joe Miller, “but she’s the most versatile player on the team, and she’s jumped in this summer and done an amazing job. She can be an outside hitter, is right-handed but can swing left-handed, too; she’s very talented.”
Stacy will also be called on to help fill in gaps left by Kaesha Walter, who was an all-state outside hitter and six-rotation starter for Galena, now playing at Northeast Oklahoma A&M.
Averi Foster, senior, is also a setter and a right-side hitter. The four-year varsity player earned first-team all-conference and second-team all-district awards last season.
“She did very well,” said Coach Miller. “This will be her third year as a setter, and she is probably the vocal leader on the team at this point. She and Baylee will be running offense, so it’s important they are the vocal leaders, and Averi has accepted and excelled at that responsibility.”
“Averi plays a hundred miles an hour,” he added. “She’s the quickest girl on the court, and will jump over benches and scorer’s table to get a ball. She is fearless and a great example for other players. They see what she’s putting into the game and it motivates them to play a bit harder, too.”
Maribelle Martin, senior, is a 6’1 middle hitter and middle blocker starting her third year on varsity. As the tallest player on the team, she will handle the majority of blocking duties.
“She has excelled,” said Coach Miller. “She missed her first year because of injury and had 100 total blocks last year as one of the top three in both district and conference, so she carries the load for us on blocking.” Miller said Martin is becoming a vocal leader for the team after starting out quiet and shy. “She’s also the team clown and keeps things light and loose,” he added. “She’s a coach’s dream; she doesn’t create or feed into drama, gets along with everybody, and is a great kid.”
Junior Mel Rice, outside hitter, enters her third year on varsity and took home second-team all-conference and second-team all-district awards last season. “In reality, she should have been first on both classifications,” said Coach Miller. “She had an ankle injury the last week of the regular season, so she didn’t get to show what she was really capable of doing in districts and the state tournament. That set her back a bit, but she’s come back this year better than ever.”
Miller said Rice is expected to be the scoring leader this year. “She’s a phenomenal player with a really good arm swing, she plays good defense, and a good vocal leader, which, as a junior, is really good for her and the team.” Coach Miller said she is “team clown number two,” and is always giving her coach a hard time. “We are excited to see what she accomplishes this year,” he added.
Six players will compete for open positions. Riley Martin, senior defensive specialist, will be a valuable backup as a passer. “This is her first year on varsity, and she has worked hard the past four years,” said Coach Miller.
Senior Kiley Evans didn’t play last year, but Coach Miller said they are excited to have her back on the court as a middle blocker. “She’s a really good kid, a hard worker, and has put in the time and effort. We are excited to give her an opportunity,” said Miller.
Junior Ava Watson has spent time as an outside and right-side hitter during the summer. “Kind of like Kiley, she played freshman year, didn’t play last year, but is a really great athlete and we are excited to have her back,” said Miller. Per her coach, she jumps well, has a good swing, and is a solid hitter.
Jaiona Bailey, sophomore, should play varsity points as a libero or defensive specialist. “She has played club ball for quite a few years and brings experience and is a good passer,” said Miller.
Sophomore Maddy Bilyeu is the other starting middle. “She has a little bit of height to her, jumps well, and is getting better with blocking,” said Miller. “She’s the next tallest to Maribelle, and we will rely on her to try to get some touches on the ball. We are going to work on her being more of a scoring threat. She’s a quick learner, great listener and getting better.”
Chloe Simpson is a freshman who looks to play libero or defensive specialist. “We have used her a bit during the summer as a setter, so she can probably fill any one of those three roles,” said Miller. “She’s played club ball for four or five years, so she brings quite a bit of court experience with her. She has a lot of upside and potential and will get varsity action this year. We are excited to have her around for the next four years.”
“We had a great season last year,” said Coach Miller. “We won 32 games two years ago and 35 last year. It’s going to be very difficult to win that many matches this year due to talent lost to graduation, but we are still in good shape.”
“Our goal is to win districts for the third time in a row, and I think we have a good shot at that. We want to win the conference again. We won it last year for the first time in 30 or 40 years, so we want to do that again. And we want to win three tournaments. It will be hard to duplicate, but the girls know what it takes to win, and the four returners will push the other girls to get better and will lead by example. We want to make it back to the Final Four and to have an even better showing.”
Galena will host a jamboree on August 29, with potential competitors including RUSH Homeschool and the 417 Mavericks. The Lady Bears will host Hollister for their first home game September 5.
