The volleyball team heads to Helias High School (HHS) at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3. With many more games in the season, junior defensive specialist Cassie Gray feels confident in their ability, especially since their score stats stand at 10-4-1 after big wins over Kirksville, Fatima, Smith Cotton and a sweep at Warrenton.
“We beat Fatima last week which is a big accomplishment for our team,” Gray said, “so if we continue to play like we have been we can keep winning.”
Varsity coach Nicole Murphy predicts the Hickman match Oct. 23 will be an interesting game, knowing the rooted rivalry between the Bruins and Kewpies.
Sept. 17 had the most difficult game yet for the team. The RBHS main gym was packed with anxious Bruins. The match was against last year’s state winning team, Hermann High School. While dominating in the first set (25-13), the second set saw Hermann slowly getting ahead, splitting the record (25-13, 21-25).
Highlights included freshman setter Ella Swindle, sophomore middle blocker Ketti Horton and junior middle hitter Kelly Barnes shutting down Hermann’s #2, Grace Winkleman, eliciting excitement from the crowd that encouraged the players. Indeed, the exceptional talent of both teams made the matches entertaining from beginning to end.
Murphy said the team of 11 is fundamentally sound but could improve on errors, defense and focus. Murphy’s goal this season is to grow the team in these areas, and she is confident that together they have what it takes to improve.
After the Bruins graduated many seniors graduate last year, a new group of faces are set to start a new era of volleyball. Murphy said she sees particular promise in freshman Ella Swindle.
“Ella is so awesome and so tall,” Murphy said. “I’ve always wanted to be a setter so having a tall setter and being able to work with a tall setter is really amazing. Ella brings a lot of ball movement, sees the court really well and is very knowledgeable about the sport.”
Swindle has played volleyball with KC Power for three years and qualified for the USA A1 select volleyball team in the summer 2018, the highest level of programming available to youth volleyball athletes, where she and other top athletes from around the country trained together.
Playing varsity and being nationally recognized at such a young age could pressure some, but for Swindle it’s just a matter of progression.
“It’s been great playing on varsity,” Swindle said, “I think that for some people it can be stressful playing with older girls their freshman year, but personally, I just want to play at the highest level.”
Wearing the No. 1 jersey, the 6’2” setter is an asset for the volleyball team, but she said all players are necessary to achieve high performance. Without cohesion, even the best players could make a mediocre team.
“Our team chemistry is probably our biggest strength. I am a very competitive person and love to win, but when I step on the court, I know I can’t win on my own,” Swindle said. “Everyone has to be involved in some way, no matter what their role is, whether it’s simply cheering on the bench or being the go-to attacker. I try to be the person that holds everyone accountable.”
Junior defensive specialist Abigail Frerking is thankful to her team, and she said she looks up to every one of her teammates.
“There are qualities in all of them that I admire and aspire to have one day,” Ferking said. “I love the game, but I also love the people I’m playing with.”
Although it’s her first year coaching the volleyball team, Murphy believes in the girls and sees their potential as a team and individuals. Beaming as she talked about them, she predicted so much improvement by the beginning of October. She said they would look like a whole different team.
“We’ve been working on leadership within the team,” Murphy said. “Yesterday in practice we had a challenging time developing leadership, but [junior] Cassie Gray rose to the occasion. [Sophomore] Evie Sprouse also impressed me a lot yesterday with her leadership skills, and I know if she focused and worked really hard she could become a leader. They could do anything if they just dug down and focused every single match.”
What do you think about the volleyball team? Let us know in the comments below.
