Receiving special honors at the Trinity Lutheran volleyball awards banquet were, from left, Laura Roeder, Bailey Tabeling and Addison Darlage. Carson Bowling also made the 1A South All-District team.
Submitted photo
The Trinity Lutheran volleyball team met up at Three Bin Farm on Monday night to put a bow on its 2022 season.
The Cougars had another successful season this past fall, as they went 23-11 overall and won the program’s eighth straight sectional championship.
Trinity had a tough battle against Tecumseh in the regional that ended its season after five sets.
But it was a fun season that saw plenty of milestones.
Carson Bowling got to the 500 kill career mark, and Addison Darlage got to the 2,000 assist career mark. Bailey Tabeling had 528 kills this season, which was a school record.
Tabeling also finished with 1,302 career kills, which is another school record.
With those accomplishments, Tabeling was named the team’s most valuable player on Monday night at the banquet.
The most improved player award went to Darlage, who had 1,053 assists this season and 262 digs.
Laura Roeder earned the Cougar Award, meaning she represented Trinity the right way both on and off the court. Roeder was the team’s libero this season, leading the team in digs with 607 and she also had 67 assists.
Tabeling and Darlage both made the 1A All-State first team, and Roeder made the 1A All-State second team. Tabeling, Darlage and Bowling also both made the 1A South All-District team.
Bowling was second on the team in kills behind Tabeling with 328, and she also led the team in total blocks with 47.
Tabeling, being the team’s lone senior, also qualified for academic all-state, meaning she had to have a grade point average of at least 3.5.
It’ll be tough for the Cougars to replace Tabeling next season, but they’ll have the luxury of having players like Bowling, Darlage and Roeder all returning.
Trinity also has a good core of players with varsity experience, such as Drew Hubbard, Madison Keith, Kiley Zabel and Ava Blomenberg.
Head coach Faith Wilder-Newland said after the season ended that she knows no one can replicate what Tabeling did for the Cougars, but she’s excited about the group she has for next year.
“Bailey is just one senior, but she plays like five,” Wilder-Newland said. “What she contributes to this team I’m not sure we can replace. I hope we can. Her personality, her leadership, she’s irreplaceable, so other people are just going to have to play roles that they are capable of playing, but nobody can be a BT. But every year is new, and we’ll see what the kids can do between now and then.”