PREP VOLLEYBALL 1997: AREA TEAMS TRY TO NET MORE STATE TITLES

The area's high school volleyball teams have been well-represented in state tournaments in the last seven years by many of the small schools.

In 1990, Zalma won the Class 1A title and three years later Leopold matched the feat. Woodland then took the 2A crown the next year, 1994.

After a year's absence for the area, Bell City went 33-3-2 and won the 1A championship last season.

This year several of the small schools look to be strong -- Bell City, Notre Dame and Leopold are all defending district champions -- and Jackson, a 4A school, also won a district title last year.

Also, once again there are sundry new coaches in the area: half of the schools have new leaders.

The following is a look at this year's area squads as the season opens for most teams on Tuesday:

Cape Central

Although Central's 8-15 record last season may not seem sublime to some, the mark was a profound improvement for the Lady Tigers, their best record in four years, under the guidance of new coach April Morgan.

Central had won a total of three matches its previous two seasons combined.

Although Central has just one senior this year and doesn't have much size, Morgan said she believes her team will be better this season.

She said last year's team was "scared to win" because it had done so little of it in previous years. Most of this year's team wasn't a part of those losing years and is not accustomed to losing, she added.

The team's top players should be sophomore defensive specialist Katie Cozby, who Morgan said has a wealth of natural ability, and junior setter Jessica Sims.

Other likely starters are senior Melissa Altenthal and juniors Jessica Balogh and Christina McWilliams. Junior Andrea Berge and sophomores Ashley McElreath and Amber Birk will vie for a starting spot.

Central opens the season Tuesday at Bloomfield.

Notre Dame

Coach Janet Buchheit has a dual objective for her Lady Bulldogs:

Because Notre Dame has a host of young players (eight juniors) with little or no varsity experience, Buchheit said she is working on fundamentals and building for the future.

But at the same time, Buchheit believes her team has enough talent to at least match -- and perhaps exceed -- last year's 16-12-1 district championship performance.

Notre Dame, which has just two seniors, has only three players who received considerable playing time last season: second-team all-district outside hitter Jennifer Glueck, senior middle hitter Jessica Hency and sophomore outside hitter Bonnie Essner.

The juniors vying for time on the floor are Shannel Buelteman, Kelli Canfield, Abby Heisserer, Jessica Lawrence, Julie Martin, Stephanie Miller, Erin Vickery and Sara Westrich.

Notre Dame opens the season Tuesday at home against Perryville.

Jackson

Jackson, which went 17-11-1 last season and lost only one starter to graduation, is the early favorite to repeat as the area Class 4A district champion.

"I expect us to be strong," second-year coach Nancy Ellis said. "We have a lot of strong athletes and a lot of experience. I think we have really strong hitters and we should be pretty successful.

Jackson, which will be the top seed in the SEMO Conference Tournament Sept. 9, will be led by first-team all-district outside hitter Valerie Jansen, a 5-7 senior, and second-team all-district selection Bridget Tracy, a senior defensive specialist.

Six-one senior Becky King has "come a long way," Ellis said. Five-10 junior outside hitter Chrissi Glastetter and 5-11 freshman middle hitter Andrea Koeper will start. Senior Mandy Brunke and juniors Heather Brown and Jennifer Ellis will vie for the starting setting slots.

Completing the varsity team, which will open the season Tuesday at home against St. Vincent. are juniors Jamie Heitz, Sara Johnson, Dianne Mirley and Sara Nothdruft.

Scott City

Considering the fact that Scott City struggled to a 7-14 record last season and Shar Dodd and Missy Nieveen were both new to coaching volleyball, neither thought she was ready to tackle the daunting task of building the program to respectability.

So Dodd and Nieveen became the area's only co-coaches.

Dodd said her first goal was to get through the first match -- Thursday at home against New Madrid County Central -- and then begin steadily improving the program.

The team will be led by two seniors, setter/hitter Amy O'Brien and hitter Jessica Dees. The other seniors are Amy Arnold, Tonya Matthews and Jessica Speakman.

The team also has nine juniors: Amanda Amos, Amber Dannenmueller, Jane Lett, Megan Noon, Tara Phillips, Jessica Schaefer, Elizabeth Schumaker, Kayleen Schweiss and Alaina Smith.

Chaffee

Chaffee has struggled recently and has only one senior, but new coach Paulette Crouthers believes her team will be "very competitive" this year.

Crouthers, who coached at Risco last season, said 5-10 junior Kate Nolen is a solid net player and juniors Emily Siebert, Abby Seyer and Jessica Smith are good setters.

The team's senior is Jessica Pobst. The other juniors are Jennifer Siebert, Belinda Noble, Rhonda Lynn, Jamie Duncan, Jennifer Finley and Dusti Garner.

Sophomore Jill Little will also play on the varsity squad, which opens the season Tuesday at Meadow Heights.

Perryvile

Perryville went 20-8-2 last year and returns honorable mention all-conference outside hitter Laura Ernst, a senior.

But the Lady Pirates lost five seniors -- all starters -- to graduation, which may make matching last year's success difficult.

Perryville coach Tim Steffens, whose six-year coaching tenure is the longest in the area, said his team won't have the hitting of last year, but its defense will be improved.

In addition to Ernst, Renee Kaempfe, a 6-0 senior middle hitter, and Amy Verseman, a 5-9 junior outside hitter, received considerable playing time last season.

Also on this year's team, which opens play Tuesday at Notre Dame, are seniors Amy Breig and Jaimy Meyr, juniors Jaimee Mueller, Shannon Dreyer, Jeni Blevins and Kristen Taylor and sophomore Nicole Blechly.

St. Vincent

St. Vincent has three starters back and seven seniors, and coach Stacie Bauwens said she believes her team will improve last year's 6-20-3 record and possibly capture the Jefferson County Conference small division title.

Returning starters are seniors Debbie Welker, a first-team all-district setter, Fara Galati (second-team all-district) and Rachael Schnurbusch.

Senior Janelle Schumer will start, and senior Stephanie Prost, juniors Kelly Brickhaus and Tiffany Moll and sophomore Jessica Lakeman will vie for the outside hitting positions.

Also on the varsity team, which starts the season Tuesday at Jackson, are seniors Stephanie Klaus and Valerie Fallert and juniors Stephanie Schremp and Jackie Zahner.

Advance

New coach Erin Willrich, who went from seldom-used reserve to key player in her four years playing volleyball at Southeast Missouri State University, said her rags-to-riches collegiate experience will help her guide a team that will have many playing on the varsity for the first time.

The Lady Hornets, which went 11-10-2 last year, lost nine seniors to graduation and have only three players with any varsity experience.

Outside hitters Amy Georger and Stacie O'Hare and setter Lana Richmond, all seniors, received time on the floor last year.

Rounding out the squad, which will open the season Tuesday at Richland, are senior Kathy Rodgers, juniors Amanda Bond, Erin Jenkins, Nikki Moore, Ashley Hitt and Serina Hill, sophomore Sheila Stubenrauch and freshman Amber Bond.

Bell City

Bell City, defending Class 1A state champion and owner of a 33-3-2 record (all three losses came against 2A champion Bernie), will have as much to live up to as any team in the state -- and the Lady Cubs may have the firepower to do it.

Bell City lost 6-1 first-team all-stater Denise Steiner and starter Telisha Shelby to graduation.

But the Lady Cubs return first-team all-stater Leslie Lee, a senior setter who coach Carl Ritter said will be as good a player as any in southeast Missouri, 5-8 second-team all-stater Courtney Brockmeyer, a junior hitter, and first-team all-district hitter April Jackson, a 5-9 senior.

Completing the starting set of four seniors, a junior and a sophomore will be 5-10 senior hitter/blocker Laura Spears, 5-10 sophomore hitter/blocker Jessica Shelby and senior Heather O'Rielly.

Bell City will start the season Tuesday at home against Oran.

Leopold

While many of the new coaches in the area face daunting challenges, Leanne Huffman may get to experience winning much sooner than many of her rookie colleagues.

Huffman, who totaled over 1,000 kills during her standout career at Southeast Missouri State University after earning all-state honors three years at Zalma, inherits a Leopold team that went 26-5-2 last year and won a district championship.

Although the Lady Wildcats lost five seniors to graduation, second-team all-stater Alicia Halter, a senior outside hitter, and honorable-mention all-conference selection Sarah Gowen, a sophomore setter, return.

Also on the squad, which opens the season Tuesday at home against Oak Ridge, are seniors Elizabeth Nunn and Sonya Jansen and juniors Lisa Peters, Beth Nenninger, Stephanie Howell, Susie Dreck, Tara Broshuis, Hanna Jansen, Heidi Debrock and Jennifer VanGennip.

Marquand

New coach Adam Hector will inherit a team with an improved attitude, he said, but struggled last year and has a mixture of experience and youth.

Hector, an assistant at Marquand last season, will rely on its five seniors, and especially on its setters, captain Bobbie Roe and Rachael Moyers. The other seniors are Elizabeth Clauser, Vanessa Miles and Julie Gibson.

The team's underclassmen will provide height. Six-four sophomore Hanah Lakies and 5-10 freshman Katie Mills will vie for playing time with junior Amy Brotherton and freshman Lindsey Reimler.

Marquand will open the season Tuesday at home against Zalma.

Meadow Heights

Although Meadow Heights went 19-6-2 last season, coach Jackie Morris said she looks for her team to be stronger this year.

Considering that her JV team, which is now the varsity squad, went 21-0 last season, she may have reason to believe such.

Morris said she has two talented hitters, 5-5 senior Michelle Cook and 5-7 junior Rachel Yount. Also on the front line is 6-0 senior Cassie Bollinger, who Morris said has "really improved."

Rounding out the varsity team, which will open the season Tuesday at home against Chaffee, are senior Lindsey Davis and juniors Kristie Hahs, Emily Sewell, Desera Yamnitz and Brandi Bollinger. Sophomores Tia Abernathy and Mariah Bollinger may see some playing time.

Oak Ridge

Michelle Grimpo will be challenged by a junior-dominated team in her first season as a volleyball coach.

Seven of the squad's ten players are juniors. Grimpo said Jan McLane, a 5-7 hitter, and Macaela Morgan, should lead the team. The other juniors are Stacie Hoffman, Dawnelle Meyr, Samantha Sharp, Ashley Clingingsmith and Jessica Brauener.

Seniors Melanie Berkbigler and Dottie O'Leary will be looked to for digging and passing, Grimpo said. Senior Jennifer Seabaugh completes the squad.

Oak Ridge, which went 11-13-2 last year, will open the season Tuesday at Leopold.

Oran

Gary Streiler, who was an assistant football coach at Caruthersville last year, said his goal for this season is a .500 record for a program that has struggled in recent years.

Streiler said senior Leslie Kluesner, juniors Rebecca Lange and Chrissy Roberts and sophomore Sara Heisserer have shown promise in practice.

Also vying for playing time are seniors Lindi Prindle, Crystal Cochran and Britni Massey, juniors Melissa Loper and Jessica Black, sophomores Sara Bouge and Mistie Senciboy and freshman Stacey Eftink.

Oran will open the season Tuesday at Bell City.

Woodland

Woodland, which lost seven seniors including standout hitter Lisa Mesey to graduation, has a new coach, Tammy Brock, and a new offense and defense.

With no individual standout such as Mesey this year, Brock, who led Leopold to a district championship last year, said her goal for this year is team play.

Setter Toni Cowell and middle hitters Dianna Lukefahr and Rebecca Fox, all juniors, will likely lead the team.

The other varsity players are seniors April Campbell and Sarah Green, juniors Desirae Bollinger, Melanie Childers and B.J. Cameron, and sophomore Sarah Booth. Sophomores Lilo Whitener and Julia Cutsinger will see some time on the varsity squad.

Woodland opens the season Tuesday at Puxico.

Zalma

Zalma coach Shannon Garner said his team, which went 9-13 last year and lost only one starter to graduation, will have no stars this season, but six solid starters.

Seniors Jessi Burchett, Heather Riney, Carrie Hovis, Brandy Lea and Christina Simmers all started last season.

Juniors Carlye Burchett, Vickie Pixley, Jennifer White and Lori Burkman complete the squad, which begins the season Tuesday at Marquand.