Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
It’s a new year, a new coach and a new league for the Sweet Home volleyball squad and they’re looking to take advantage of the opportunities before them.
Coming off their final season in the Val-Co League, in which they finished with three wins €“ one a victory over Central that kept the Panthers from winning the league €“ the Huskies are aiming for a state playoffs berth in their first year in the Sky-Em League.
Sweet Home has spent considerable time in the gym in the last few weeks, starting with three-a-days, then daily doubles and finishing their training Friday at a pre-season Jamboree at Cottage Grove, where they beat three league teams and one former member.
New Coach Alicia Meier said her team is focusing on playing smart this season, particularly because the Huskies don’t have the height they will face against the state’s top teams.
“We can’t always hit with the tallest girls in the gym but we can play smart with them,” said Meier, a former Willamette University player who joined the Huskies after heading a Bend-area recreational volleyball organization. Meier, 34, a native of Bend, has experience in facing taller opponents as she played outside hitter in high school and college even though she is only 5-7.
“Foundation, ball control. That’s what we’re focusing on. I’m sure the girls would say that the drills thus far have been about ball control.”
She said the team has also emphasized conditioning and meeting goals.
“One big thing is that in the fifth game I don’t want them to look tired,” she said. “I want them to have as much energy as they did in Game 1. We’re really pushing that.”
In Friday’s jamboree, Meier said it looked like that training was paying off when the Huskies looked fresh after four games in a very hot gym, while their opponents looked wilted.
One thing the Huskies have a lot of is experience. Even though the 10 varsity players include only two seniors, five of the six juniors played varsity last year.
Back are last year’s co-MVP Tiffany Miller, a junior, “a great setter,” Meier said; and fellow juniors Devyn Makin, Emili Riggs, Annie Whitfield €“ all outside hitters, “strong” middle blockers Brandi Trewin and Jamie Swanson; and sophomore Megan Graville.
She said Miller “did a great job running the show” on Friday. “She was all over.”
Whitfield also had a big day, though Meier said she didn’t keep stats.
“Overall, they really minimized their errors,” she said of her team. “They made the other team make the errors.”
Moving up this year from last year’s undefeated JV1 team are seniors Ashley Cochran and Bethany Marner and junior Hailey Fisher, all three defensive specialists.
Meier said setting and defense look to be a strength for the Huskies, particularly with outside hitters who can put the ball down.
“Tiffany is really capable of setting them,” she said. “We really want to create better situations for our outside hitters. We want to take pressure off of them.”
She said that she is encouraging the team to learn from mistakes and communicate on the court.
“We want to have teammates calling shots for us,” she said. “That’s what the top teams do.”
Confidence is a big emphasis, Meier said. She has set conditioning requirements for players and the Huskies have responded.
“I’m trying to get them to set goals for themselves, to realize they can reach them, like run a certain time in the mile. For them to achieve it was huge. You could see it in their faces. It was amazing to watch some of those girls meet that goal. It was a huge confidence builder. We want to stay as confident, optimistic and enthusiastic as possible.”
Meier said she has gotten a lot of assistance from JV1 coaches Mary Hutchins and Shawna Baxter and JV2 coach Tina Dodge.
“They just have a lot of knowledge €“ they’re good role models,” she said.
Having so many juniors on the varsity already provides an opportunity for the junior varsity players to develop their games, she said.
“This is definitely a building year for the JV1 and JV2 teams,” Meier said.
“Lots of girls are learning the sport. We’re teaching them the fundamentals. We’re building the program right there. We have a solid two years to build those girls in their skills. It’s kind of nice.”
She said she expects Cottage Grove and Sisters to be the biggest challenges in the Sky-Em conference this year, but she thinks Sweet Home has a shot at the state playoffs as well.
“I see us contending for one of the top three positions,” she said.
If Friday’s jamboree is any indication, her goals are well within reach.
The Huskies defeated Sky-Em opponents Elmira 25-17, Cottage Grove 25-16 and Junction City 25-18, and former Sky-Em member Pleasant Hill 25-15.
“It was a great day for the program, a good start to our season,” Meier said. “It was all good, just to play well as a team.
They’re really excited.”