The Sweet Home Volleyball Club program is off and running in its effort to develop local talent at younger ages, coaches say.
The club, which offers teams for girls 16 and under, and 14 and under. Its focus is to provide a local and affordable option for the girls to improve on fundamental volleyball skills and get more game experience, said high school Head Coach Alicia Meier, who founded the program last December.
The 14 and Under team is coached by Mary Hutchins and Meier. Players include Madisen Barringer, Joelle Engen, Molly Fisher, Moriah Gingerich, McKayla Horner, Josie Knight, Sydney Nichol, Gracie Olson, Lola Wingo and Rebecca Wooley. Engen, Horner and Nichol are East Linn Christian Academy students.
The 16 and Under team is coached by Lebanon High School JV1 Coach Kacey Setzer. Players include Sam Ashlock, Alena Davis, McKenzie Cochran, Megan Graville, Anna Groner, Danielle Landucci, Emily Marchbanks, Hannah Mather, Carly Newberg and Carissa Sipe.
Each team practices two or three times per week and plays in two tournaments a month.
As a new program, Meier said, they started at the bottom of the rankings, but they’re moving up.
“Since we are a new club our seeding for both the 14 and 16 teams started out low,” she said. “The 14s team started out 126th out of 128 teams and at our first Power League Tournament, held at Willamette University, we moved up to 108.” Currently, the team is ranked 104th out of 128 in the Columbia Empire Volleyball Association.
“We just took second place at the The Hoop Salem,” she said. “In the finals we played the 18th-ranked Oregon Volleyball Academy-Elite team in the 14 and under division. They were ranked 18th. We lost in two games, 10-25 and 22-25.
“I think we started playing a little better. When you’re under 14, a lot of it is serving. That was good for our girls. They didn’t know what the other team was ranked.
“I started the club due to interest from the parents and players here in Sweet Home and was very fortunate to get Mary Hutchins and Kacey Setzer on board to coach,” Meier said. “These women are very good coaches and wonderful role models for the girls. Without them the club would not be as successful.”
Likewise, the 16s team moved from a seeding of 116th to 92nd at their first Power League Tournament at Portland State University.
Meier said the club has helped both the level of play and team unity.
“They’re building their skill level and becoming more positive in serving and serve-receive,” she said. “We’re just trying to get our passing better so we can run a faster offense.
“Mary and I have been talking about how much impovement each girl has gone through. Even though it doesn’t seem like much time, two days a week over a four-week period means getting a lot of touches on the ball.
“They’re putting in a ton of work for next season.”