Crothersville volleyball coach Carly Blevins hopes to learn a lot about her team today when it competes in a five-team round robin at Scottsburg.
The Tigers will open against Scottsburg at 10 a.m. and play Borden, Mitchell and Rising Sun later in the day.
Blevins said she is counting on a lot from her seniors, Kennadi Lakins, Karley Gills, Ella Plasse, Haley Williams and Kaylee Caudill.
“All of them played a lot last year,” Blevins said. “We’ve got a lot of great (senior) leaders this year, girls who have stepped up and have really taken charge. Their communication is pretty solid this year. Lakins is one of our stronger hitters. Pearl Shirley and Williams are also pretty good at hitting. Kennadi and Haley are pretty decent at their blocks, too, so they’re usually my top blockers.”
Lakins is beginning her third fall of playing volleyball and running cross-country.
“I’ll be playing outside this year, and I’ll be playing all-around, too,” she said. “Last year, I played middle, so it will be a change this year. I just try to hit around that block because you have more room to adjust yourself to the set so you can see where people are on the court.”
She said when she was in the middle, she was counted on a lot for blocking, so she will liked attacking as an outside hitter.
“I get to hit more, so I can focus on that,” she said.
Lakins said practices are key.
“They are really important because we had a rough season last year, so we really just want to show people that is not who we really are, and we just want to come back,” she said. “We put in a lot of work this summer, and we want to prove that we are way better than we were last year.”
She is looking forward to the competition at Scottsburg.
“I just want to see how much summer practice really helped us because we went to camp this year, and I feel that helped us a lot,” she said. “It was nice to go to camp because we don’t have that competition in practice. Competing against other people at camp was really helpful.”
Sophomore Makenna Newberry will be the varsity setter, and Caudill also will do some setting.
“Makenna has a little experience, and that will help this year, so hopefully, she can take off,” Blevins said.
Junior Carlee Walker will fill the libero role for the Tigers.
“She’s quick. She’s good at defending the ball. She gets down low, and she can dig,” Blevins said. “I’m looking for the back row to get it up every time. I feel our strength is going to be our quickness and our defending.”
The Tigers played in a league at Southwestern (Hanover) in June and attended the Michiana Camp in Muncie, and Blevins said that was a big help to the girls.
“That has really helped our communication and our team chemistry on and off the court,” she said. “We definitely want to win and to show people who we are. It’s going to take a lot of teamwork. It’s going to take teamwork to get to where we want to be and everything we need to do. Our sophomores and juniors have also put in a lot of time, and our freshmen have been to everything, too. The whole team has been very active and involved.”
The Tigers also will play a full junior varsity schedule.
“It will definitely give (younger girls) some experience they need at a faster-paced level,” Blevins said. “We have more depth. We have more ability to sub in and out if we need to if somebody needs a break, so I feel confident in all the girls and their ability to step up and help their teammates out when they need to.”
Crothersville’s home opener will be Aug. 24 against Orleans.