Despite the number of returning starters on the 2016 Pella High volleyball team, many players will shift in on-the-court responsibilities this fall.
Head Coach Catie Brand has been tinkering with the main rotation during summer workouts and camps, and feels the tweaks will be a progression of what the team did near the end of last season.
“You always want to look at your team and figure out with the top six, seven, or eight, what is the best chemistry for them,” Brand says. “Defensively, we are looking at a couple of different defenses to see if we can cover the floor a little bit better, we have a lot of attack from the back row which we started using at the end of last season, and that will be something we continue to put into our offense.”
Brand says with a talented mix of hitters returning, the offense needs to maintain the type of balance they found on their way to the state tournament, which all starts with the one player who is always adjusting to everyone else on the floor–setter Kiki Pingel.
“She just steps on the floor and commands that leadership role, and that sets everyone else at ease,” she says. “When you have a setter who is comfortable, and confident, and able to guide everyone else in our offense, that’s really helpful.”
The Lady Dutch volleyball team begin their 2016 season on Tuesday night against the Ballard Bombers.