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Fall 2017 Preview: Blue Eye Volleyball

By Josh Hall (Josh.hall@ky3.com)

The goal this season for the Blue Eye High School volleyball team is unanimous among its players.

It’s simple. The Lady Bulldogs want to win a district championship.

Blue Eye came close as a No. 2 seed, but ultimately fell to fourth-seeded Hurley in three sets in the championship game of the Class 1 District 7 tournament. The Lady Bulldogs ended their season with a 9-17-4 record, while Hurley (15-13) was defeated by Billings in sectionals.

“Their goal this year is to win districts,” first-year head coach Taylor Pierce said in a July 18 phone interview. “That’s all they’ve been talking about. Throughout the whole summer, they have been talking about how they’re training for the future. We’re training for down the road.”

The good news for the Lady Bulldogs is they only lose one senior from that team and return all of their starters.

But there could still be some changes made to the rotation.

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Brookelyn Box (outside/left back) and Katelynn Hansen (right-side hitter) return for their senior years. Junior Kenedi Larson was a setter for Blue Eye in a 5-1 rotation, while fellow juniors Kenzie Hobbs (libero), Trinity Young (middle hitter) and Ayshia Bettlach (defensive specialist) are also expected to help anchor the Lady Bulldogs as upperclassmen.

Sophomores Kohnnar Patton (middle hitter/middle back) and Maddie Box (defensive specialist) also saw significant playing time as freshmen and should see a more prominent role in 2017.

“This is a new season with a new coach, so there will be new and exciting adjustments made to this year’s lineup,” Pierce said. “I always tell them the two things I’m looking for is attitude and effort. I’ll play someone that has a great attitude and a great effort over amazing talent any day if they have a bad attitude.”

Adeline Forester (senior) played on the junior varsity team last year, but Pierce has been working with her this summer and sees a spot on varsity as a right-side hitter.

“Some of the things I love most about the girls at Blue Eye is their coach ability, their hard work ethic, their competitive drive, and their genuine respect for one another as teammates,” Pierce said. “They love a challenge and work hard to reach their goals. All of them are incredibly talented and athletic. I will have my work cut out for me when it comes to deciding who will play where because all of them are capable. It is a great problem to have.”