By Becky Walz,
Leading the way for the Warrior volleyball with a letter are (front row, l-r) Allison Hageman, Ella Theis, Chloe Wiltgen, Avery Luzum; (back row) Bailee Frana, Kiara Bullerman, Addison Timp, Ivey Franzen and Alyssa Holthaus. (Photo by Becky Walz)
The South Winn volleyball team should be loaded this fall.
With nine returning letter winners, the Warriors have the experience needed to have a good season with a handful of hopefuls ready to wear a varsity jersey, it should be another entertaining season in the gym for the red and white.
Looking to make the Warriors into a team to beat is fifth-year coach Alex Smith with Ethan Adams stepping in as his co-head coach for his first season.
Looking back
A line-up that returned six letter winners in 2023 worked hard to incorporate the talents of the youth.
The Warriors went through phases of wins and losses throughout the season, ultimately finishing second in the Upper Iowa Conference with a 7-1 mark.
The season came to an end in the first round of the playoffs, with the Warriors falling to Beckman Catholic 0-3 (9-25, 10-25, 21-25).
South Winn ended the season 17-11 overall.
As a team, the Warriors served 1,325-for-1,487, for an 89.1 percent serving efficiency with 202 aces. In 78 sets, they produced 607 kills, along with 495 assists, 829 digs and 115 total blocks (34 solo, 81 assist).
Those gone
The Warriors graduated three players from last year. Katrina Hageman, an outside hitter, was named first team all-conference last year. She had 219 kills, 192 digs and served 202-for-226 with 43 aces. Avery Humpal had 83 kills, 136 digs and served with 92.9 percent efficiency (234-for-252) with 22 aces. Humpal received All-UIC second team honors for her efforts. Rachel Meyer saw action in 31 sets, going 24-for-25 in serving and made 16 digs.
What it takes
The co-head coaches have nine returning letter winners to look to this season.
Junior setter Ella Theis handed out 245 assists and nabbed 79 digs last season. Earning a second team all-UIC nod, Theis also went 249-for-289 at the service line with 36 ace serves. Ivy Franzen and Avery Luzum were named honorable mention by the UIC last season during their junior campaigns. Franzen, an outside hitter, recorded 90 kills and 34 blocks, while Luzum dished out 202 assists and served up 31 aces as she went 171-for-198 in serving.
Also back with a letter are Alyssa Holthaus (OH, 15 kills), Chloe Wiltgen (DS, 141 digs, 155-for-179 with 26 aces), Kiara Bullerman (RS, 41 kills), Bailee Frana (MH, 12 kills), Allison Hageman (OH, 55 digs), Addison Timp (RS, 43 kills).
Unfortunately, an injury during softball has sidelined Abby Wagner returning for her senior campaign after she earned first team All-UIC honors last season.
“We have a lot of excitement within our program and lot of depth to work with having 40 players out for high school volleyball,” said co-head coach Smith. “We should have a number of options to consider at all positions in the varsity lineup and have great competition amongst our players in practice. We will have to get more creative with our lineups to fill the Wagner’s void, but we have a number of players returning with varsity experience and we are confident they will all take their level up and settle into their roles as the season moves along.”
UIC race
Having finished runner-up in the Upper Iowa Conference last year, the Warriors are hungry for the top spot. The co-head coaches foresee North Fayette Valley being the top contender once again with an abundance of experience returning and having gone undefeated in the league a season ago.
“We hope to once again put ourselves in a position to compete for a conference title while developing as the season goes along to play our best come postseason,” Coach Smith concluded.
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