Just a few weeks into camp, South Wasco County senior Cassie Davis has already seen an impressive progression from her young teammates.
The group of four freshmen, two sophomores, one junior and three seniors have been looking to raise their level of play for the 2015 campaign under second-year head coach Donna Barton.
“Hard-working,” Davis said of the underclassmen. “They are constantly going all-out in practice. We really push each other too. I think this team is going to be really good because I think the team that pushes each other and works hard together, is a team that is hard to beat.”
Last season, the Lady Redsides won four matches overall and posted a 3-3 record in league play.
During the regular season, South Wasco County posted wins over Sherman, Mitchell/Spray and two over Horizon Christian.
On Sept. 20 in Maupin, the Redsides placed second in their tournament.
In Condon on Oct. 23, South Wasco County ended up having their season cut short in a tough five-game loss by scores of 21-25, 26-24, 25-14, 22-25 and 12-15 to Arlington.
After the match, SWC assistant coach Terry Stark described what transpired in that contest.
“A couple of mistakes here and there were the difference,” Stark said. “Tough way to end the season, but the girls can hold their heads high. They worked hard all week at practice and were definitely ready to play this evening. We just gave away some free points at the wrong time.”
Although the Lady Redsides are playing without graduated seniors and all-league winners Molly Foreaker and Roxanne O’Neal, the team still has some all-league hitters back in the fold in middle blockers Baily Hogenkamp and Ally Muhleman.
From her spot at the net, Hogenkamp led SWC with 137 kills on 401 swings.
She also had the second-highest serve percentage with 261 of 283 completed and a team-leading 35 aces.
Hogenkamp has 125 serve receptions of 167 attempts for .749 percent.
Up at the net, she led the Redsides in blocks with 32.
Last season, Muhleman, now a junior, led the team on serve-receive with 231 on 283 tries for a .816 rate.
She was second on the squad with 115 kills and she made good on 141 of 161 serves with 13 aces.
“I am excited to play again. We had a good season last year and I feel we can be even better,” Hogenkamp said. “This team will have success as long as we have dedication from everyone. We have to make sure that no matter what, the girls are dedicated to the team and they do their best to make the team better through the year.”
Sophomore setter Allie Noland will play a huge role in the offense, both seniors Davis and Tatum Hahn figure to be major contributors offensively and defensively and sophomore Ana Popchock is another player who is rising up the depth chart.
Rounding out the Redside roster are a quartet of freshmen in Jacqueline Noland, Jada Myers, Madison Davis and Kyrsten Sprouse.
“As you can see we are very young, though our returners have solid experience,” Barton said. “We plan to have a more balanced attack and have been working hard on serving tough and covering the floor on defense. We have always dug attacks really well and just need to keep improving. We served 90 percent as a team last year and I expect to do a little better this next year, while serving tougher.”
Barton has four players who are interchangeable in the middle, so the added depth will allow the coach to mix and match through a match.
On the court, Barton would like to see improvements made on the soft shots in the middle, an area that hurt the team last year.
“From the get-go, we are working on that,” the Redside coach said. “These guys have always been able to dig up the hard stuff, they don’t back down. We are working hard at reading the soft stuff, getting to it and covering it.”
Hogenkamp called serving a focal point of improvement, Davis said player trust is a huge element to success and Hahn said leadership and accountability are huge factors to this team.
In her final season, Davis said the team inspires her to do better every day. She hopes the seniors do the same for them.
When it is all said and done, Hogenkamp is hoping to play some matches at the end of October, preferably at state in Redmond.
“I think we are going to do pretty good,” the senior said. “We lost a few seniors, which is tough, but the freshmen coming in are pretty good this year. I think if we try our best, we can be at third place at least. Other than that, it’s early. I think we can have a good season.”
SWC plays in a tri-team match versus Stanfield and Echo at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Friday in Stanfield.
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