Lady Cardinals Looking Good

WAITSBURG – Cardinal volleyball coach Angie Potts is looking forward to facing the upcoming season with a scrappy, aggressive and close-knit team. Waitsburg is fielding both varsity and JV teams this year, with two coaches and two volunteer assistants.

Potts has coached volleyball for 25 years and this will be her fifth year in Waitsburg. She is assisted by JV coach, Tammy Brown, who has been with her the last three years and was JV coach under Tracy Barron in years past. Jaidyn Brown is in her second year as a volunteer and Danielle Carpenter is volunteer coaching for the first time.

"The girls are getting a lot of good feedback and instruction from them," Potts said.

Key returning players Ariel Sandau (senior), Tayler Jones (senior), Devon Harshman (junior), and Kelsey Alleman (junior) will bring strength and continuity to the team.

"Ariel has been our starting setter the past three years and has shown a tremendous amount of growth, not just in her ability, but in her confidence and her ability to run the offense. She provides her team with the passion and excitement to play the game and be successful.

" Tayler is an outside hitter and really started coming on at the end of last year with her hitting. She's always been a consistent passer and solid on defense. She's picked up where she left off and will be counted on to be a leader both on offense and in the back row on defense.

" Devon spent last winter playing club volleyball while also playing basketball and the extra time on the court has paid off. She's got better control of her passing and setting and is in mid-season form already. We're looking to her put up a big block as well as provide the kills on offense.

"Kelsey was our libero and serving specialist last season and will undoubtedly fill that role again this year. She's consistent in the back row and has been working to be more aggressive in getting to balls. She's got a great float serve that doesn't look tough until you see the movement on it. She's getting better at placing her serve which will create problems for other teams," Potts said.

New players to the varsity team include Karlie Mathews (senior), Kailyn Lewis (sophomore), and Amy Farley (sophomore). Freshman Annaka Moreland and Leena Baker (junior) will swing between varsity and JV.

"Karlie is a senior who has been on JV for the past three years. She has worked hard, has a great attitude, and will be able to make some contributions in the middle. Kirsten, Kailyn, and Amy were brought up to varsity at the end of the season last year. All three are competing for positions as hitters and are aggressive in the back row. Amy is definitely our most vocal player and does a great job of communicating with her teammates," Potts said.

"Annaka and Leena are new to varsity but will also be swinging from the JV team. As they get just a little more experience and confidence for the varsity matches, they could very well see quite a bit of playing time," she added.

Potts said the Lady Cards were able to get in some practice over the summer playing several matches in June and attending a tournament in Pomeroy. She said the younger players provided the majority of the summer roster and won the majority of matches.

"We started practice on the 21st and the girls have had great attitudes and have been working hard during the long practices. This team seems like it will be one of the closer-knit teams we've had. They take care of each other like family which is great to be around," Potts said.

"I think our strength will be in our defense. This is a scrappy group and they're aggressive. It's fun to watch them fly around the court and make plays that are unexpected. They are learning to read hitters even better and that's helping them be able to move faster to the ball.

"As a weakness, we're still working on reaching and getting on the top of the ball as hitters. Our older girls (Ariel, Tayler, Devon) are doing a great job of putting the ball down and will be effective. Our younger girls are getting there and will be counted on to provide their fair share of kills," she added.

The Lady Cards will attend a jamboree in Kahlotus on Sept. 2 which will provide the opportunity to get on the court in game situations and try girls in different positions while determing startion rotation and positions, Potts said.

The first league match is on Sept. 4 at DeSales.

"I have pretty high expectations based on what I've seen them do so far," Potts said.

Varsity Roster:

Ariel Sandau SR

Tayler Jones SR

Karlie Mathews SR

Devon Harshman JR

Kelsey Alleman JR

Leena Baker JR

Kirsten Miller SO

Kailyn Lewis SO

Amy Farley SO

Annaka Moreland FR

JV Roster:

Leena Baker JR

Makaila Wyatt JR

Anna Miller SO

Marley Ahler SO

Sawyer Tardiff SO

Teagan Larsen FR

Annaka Moreland FR

Kaylee White FR