Bell City returns experience from last year's state-tournament volleyball team

It has not taken Bell City volleyball coach Erin Hoffman long to secure her spot as one of the top coaches in Southeast Missouri.

In just her fourth season, Hoffman has turned the Cubs into a small school powerhouse, making two trips to the state final four in the past three years, including a state title in 2003.

Bell City's volleyball program continues to grow with a steady progression of talent. This year's roster averages about five players in each class. Last season, the Cubs finished third in the state in Class 1 with a lineup that featured just one senior.

"If they start out in the fourth grade, usually they stick with it all the way through," Hoffman said. "We will get at least four out of a class."

During Hoffman's tenure, the Cubs have featured a relentless defense that piles up digs. Rarely does an opposing team get a clean kill against Bell City.

Hoffman credits Bell City's defense with helping them make the final four last season.

"I think that saved us a little last year," she said. "I think actually what hurt us last year was our offense. This year, we've been working on offense, but also on our defense, especially our libero."

The libero position was added to Missouri high school volleyball last season. Common to college volleyball, the libero is a defensive position that does not serve or rotate through the front line. The player wears a different color jersey and does not count against the team's substitutions when replacing a back-row player.

Bell City did not utilize the libero much last season, but Hoffman said she has several quality liberos on her roster and expects the position to be a integral part of her team.

"Hopefully that makes [our defense] even better," Hoffman said.

Offensively, the Cubs do have some size. The current squad features 5-foot-10 junior Rachel Spears and 5-10 junior Jenny Lathum.

Megan Slagley, a senior, along with junior Jessica Abner also are back from last year. Setter Codie Lancaster, who started last year as a freshman, rounds out the returning starters.

"One big positive is I've got girls that work harder than you could ask anyone to work," Hoffman said. "The naturally talented ones, the tallest ones or the ones with the best vertical -- they all work as hard as they can."

There may not be a harder working player on the court than Lancaster.

"It's great when you have a setter that, if we try something new, I just say 'Codie, you have to get this serve,' and she does it," Hoffman said. "She works until she gets it right."

Bell City should receive its share of competition locally from small schools such as Leopold, a defending Class 1 district champion with several returning players.

But walking by the third-place trophy that sits next to the 2003 state championship trophy should provide the Cubs with plenty of motivation.

"I think the girls that went to the final four last year, getting third place didn't go over well with them," Hoffman said. "That could be motivation for those girls. Their names are on a banner for third place, and they want to try to do better."

District champs

In Class 2, Scott City and St. Vincent will try to build on last year's district titles.

The Rams have won back-to-back district titles but have been bounced in the sectional round both times. Scott City will return all but one starter under second-year coach Carl Ritter Jr.

"We should be the favorites in the district, but that doesn't mean anything," Ritter said. "I don't like to count my chickens before they're hatched. We're in a pretty good district."

For the Squaws, last year's district title was their first since 1987. St. Vincent featured a lineup with five sophomore contributors last season, but will have to replace four starters.

Leopold has six all-conference players returning from a squad which fell one win short of heading to the final four in Class 1. Senior middle hitter Jenny Vandeven was also an all-regional pick last season.

Revolving door

The offseason was a busy one for area volleyball squads, with seven coaching changes among the 16 area teams.

Central, Jackson, Perryville, Advance, Leopold, Woodland and Zalma all changed coaches. The most notable change came at Jackson, where former Central coach Maile Gannon came over to lead the rival Indians.

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HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

Bell City

Coach: Erin Hoffman

* Last year's record: 30-7-2, third place in Class 1

* Returning starters: Jenny Lathum, junior, middle blocker; Megan Slagley, senior, outside hitter; Emilie Stephens, senior, outside hitter; Codie Lancaster, sophomore, setter; Jessica Abner, junior, right side; Rachel Spears, junior, middle blocker.

* Other top returning players: Mandi Lee, senior, libero; Sorrel Liggins, senior, defense; Kristen Green, junior, outside hitter.

* Coach's outlook: "Starters have been playing together for a while and are meshing well. They know how to work together well on the court."

Central

Coach: Debra Spinner

* Last year's record: 10-17

* Returning starters: Kristin Shirrell, senior, setter; Carissa Wheeler, junior, middle blocker; Ashton Gerlach, senior, libero; Melissa Espinoza, senior, outside hitter; Wendi Zickfield, sophomore, middle blocker; Kyla Valleroy, senior, setter.

* Other top returning players: Brittany Rhodes, senior, libero.

* Key newcomers: Taylor Kirn, sophomore, outside hitter.

* Coach's outlook: "Only lost one starter from last year's team. Stronger team leaders. Continue to build upon the foundation that has been set by improving the overall record and using our increased physical strength."

Chaffee

Coach: Sara Heisserer

* Last year's record: 1-25

* Returning starters: Torie Keys, senior, outside hitter; Christa Beck, senior, outside hitter; Lindsay Cook, senior, setter; Celeste Shields, senior, setter; Kelsey Spears, senior, weakside hitter.

* Other top returning players: Brooke Jaynes, senior, defense; Lindsey McKinley, junior, outside hitter; Alyson Austin, junior, setter.

* Key newcomers: Erica Powers, freshman; Chelsie Welker, freshman; Amber Schlitt, senior.

* Coach's outlook: "Due to lack of numbers, we are going to have only a varsity team this year. I am very optimistic about this group -- we have five returning starters and seven seniors total. We have several good leaders with lots of experience. This group of girls should be very competitive this year."

Jackson

Coach: Maile Gannon

* Last year's record: 24-11, lost in Class 4 district finals

* Returning starters: DeDe Whitlow, senior, libero; Amanda Peiffer, senior, middle blocker.

* Other top returning players: Katelyn James, junior, middle blocker; Chelsea Dale, junior, middle blocker.

* Key newcomers: Chelsea Olson, junior, setter; Megan Spooler, junior, outside hitter.

* Coach's outlook: "We are young and inexperienced at the varsity level since losing seven seniors last year. On junior varsity, this group was 17-3 and eventually began to see some playing time on varsity toward the end of the season. They have experienced success, and that will help us throughout the season."

Leopold

Coach: Greg Nenninger

* Last year's record: 23-6, lost to Bell City in Class 1 quarterfinal

* Returning starters: Jenny Vandeven, senior, middle hitter; Janice Jansen, senior, outside hitter; Cassie Seiler, junior, setter; Casey Bucher, sophomore, outside hitter; Cassi Jansen, junior, outside hitter; Desiree Arnzen, junior, defense.

* Other top returning players: Maddy Hutchings, junior, middle hitter; Erin Woodfin, senior, middle hitter; Kayla Trankle, senior, defense; Kelly Eeftink, senior, defense; Maggie Seiler, senior, setter/hitter; Amber Bueter, senior, outside hitter.

* Key newcomers: Chelsea Broshuis, junior, outside hitter; Margaret Seabaugh, junior, outside hitter; Allison Bueter, junior, middle hitter; Marissa VanGennip, junior, defense; Jessica Eftink, junior, outside hitter.

* Coach's outlook: "We had a very good year last year, and hopefully we'll have another successful season. The girls are all working hard in practice, and we will take it one game at a time."

Notre Dame

Coach: Tara Stroup

* Last year's record: 17-16

* Returning starters: Meridith Medlin, senior, setter/outside hitter; Ashley Nenninger, senior, outside hitter; Destiny Dirnberger, senior, defense/outside hitter; Claire Goodson, senior, middle hitter; Emily Huber, senior, setter.

* Other top returning players: Hailey Bohnert, senior, defense/outside hitter; Emily Blattel, senior, defense/outside hitter; Aimee Ha, senior, setter

* Key newcomers: Emily Jo Matthews, junior, middle hitter; Paige Schumer, junior, setter; Rachel Phillips, junior, middle hitter.

* Coach's outlook: "Our team is going to be strong. We have good hitters, setters and defenders. We're very athletic and should be fun to watch. Hopefully we'll go as far as we can in the postseason."

Oak Ridge

Coach: Whitney McFall

* Last year's record: NA

* Returning starters: Kia Thomas, senior, middle blocker; Cynthia Volz, senior, setter; Jessica Seyer, senior, outside hitter.

* Other top returning players: Hannah Sedgwick, junior, defensive specialist/setter; Tabbi Ruesler, junior, outside hitter; Camie Roberts, senior, right side.

* Key newcomers: Andrea Schreiner, junior, middle hitter

* Coach's outlook: "We have six girls coming back to varsity this year with a lot of young talent that will be playing up. I hope with the right combination of old and young, we'll be a strong team."

Oran

Coach: Julie Brandmeyer

* Last year's record: 9-18-2

* Returning starters: Mandi Wood, senior, setter; Kayla Graviett, senior, libero; Alyson Seyer, junior, outside hitter; Cassie Graviett, junior, outside hitter.

* Other top returning players: Megan Chapman, senior, middle hitter.

* Key newcomers: Cammie Milam, right side/defensive specialist; Ashton May, middle hitter.

* Coach's outlook: "With the return of four key starters, we look forward to a great year. Our biggest assets this year is our attitude, commitment and work ethic, and because of this we will surprise a lot of teams."

Perryville

Coach: Tyler Abernathy

* Last year's record: 12-14-2

* Returning starters: Jocelyn Moll, junior, middle hitter; Brittany Castleberry, senior, outside hitter; Elizabeth Martin, junior, setter.

* Other top returning players: Lezlie Lundy, senior, outside hitter; Ava Johnson, sophomore, setter; Ashley Castleberry, junior, setter.

* Key newcomers: Ava Johnson, sophomore, setter.

* Coach's outlook: "I believe our strength will be the experience within the starting lineup. We have three significant players returning. Our weakness will be our lack of depth. We expect to be very competitive."

Saxony Lutheran

Coach: Amy Birk

* Last year's record: 4-22

* Returning starters: Nicole Petzoldt, junior, middle hitter; Tiffany Haertling, junior, setter; Kara Versemann, sophomore, hitter.

* Key newcomers: Brooke Kasten, sophomore, hitter.

* Coach's outlook: "Our varsity is now in its third season; and although our team is young, they seem to be much faster and learning quicker. We hope to have much more success this year with our defense."

Scott City

Coach: Carl Ritter Jr.

* Last year's record: 25-8-2, Class 2 district champions, lost in sectional

* Returning starters: Kacie Ritter, senior, setter/outside hitter; Whitney Tapley, junior, middle hitter; Valerie Gibbons, senior, outside hitter; Kelley Hicks, senior, outside hitter; Heather Huckstep, junior, outside hitter; Brittany Licare, junior, libero.

* Other top returning players: Kristen Yetman, junior, setter; Danyell Pate, junior, outside; Amber Barr, junior, outside; Donielle Howell, junior, outside

* Key newcomers: Broke Simpson, freshman, middle hitter; Livia Guarda, senior, outside hitter; Jenni Heisserer, senior, outside hitter.

* Coach's outlook: "We should be competitive ... great kids to work with. We hope to repeat our district crown and be more competitive at the sectional level if we can make it there. We need to take one game at a time."

St. Vincent

Coach: Mary Rosenquist

* Last year's record: 24-11-2, Class district champions

* Returning starters: Lacey Siegmund, junior, setter/hitter; Kelsey Cissell, junior, setter/hitter; Brooke Brown, junior, middle hitter; Brooke Hayden, junior; Sara Moll, junior, defensive specialist

* Other top returning players: Kailyn Petzoldt, junior, outside hitter/middle hitter; Courtney Besand, sophomore, outside hitter

* Coach's outlook: "Our strength is our work ethic and teamwork. On this team, there is no 'me, me, me,' or 'I, I, I.' Weakness is we're not very big. We were district champions last year so we need to strive for that again. We did lose four varsity starters from last year."

Woodland

Coach: Mary Kay Stoneking

* Last year's record: 15-12

* Returning starters: Rheanna Greer, senior.

* Other top returning players: Brandi Killian, junior; Chelsie Morris, junior; Jessica Santi, junior.

* Key newcomers: Lauren Johnson, sophomore; Kyla Choate, sophomore.

* Coach's outlook: "We will be young. However, we have some power on the front line. We also have some smart players on the back line. We hope to have a great season and win as many as possible."

Zalma

Coach: Shannon Garner

* Last year's record: 14-14-1

* Returning starters: Chelsea Snider, senior, outside hitter; Chelsea Pickett, senior, setter.

* Other top returning players: Becky Burchett, senior, setter; Angie Clubb, junior, hitter; Megan Beal, senior, middle.

* Key newcomers: Emily Rogers, senior, defensive specialist; Tiffany Wilcox, senior, middle; Samantha Taylor, junior, outside hitter; Kaci Bennett, junior, outside hitter.

* Coach's outlook: "We will be defensive-oriented. We are not very tall. We have a goal to win all the games we're supposed to win."