Colby volleyball looks to take step forward
The Colby Hornets volleyball team is back and looking to vie for the top of the Cloverbelt-West conference in 2023. Much of their 2022 lineup is returning to the court and with that experience, head coach Wade Oehmichen is hoping that they can build upon the steps they were taking forward at the end of last year.
The 2022 Hornets finished 8-20 overall, but were tied for third in the conference with a 4-4 record. One could see flashes of what the squad could become, especially as they became more comfortable as the season progressed, with a midseason win over Gilman being a highlight of their conference schedule. Now that much of the team has that first year of varsity play under their belts, the Colby coaching staff will be looking to add more moving pieces to the system they run.
“The complexity of our offense is going to drastically increase,” Oehmichen said. “We started last year with the girls usually just throwing up really high sets, but we are done with that. Now that we have one year in and the girls have a feel for the new offense, we are going to ratchet it up. Girls are going to be playing multiple positions in the front row and we are going to be much faster.”
Colby will be without outside hitter Hayden Willner, who earned secondteam all-conference honors, and setter Jorja Weiland from last year’s squad, but much of the rotation remains intact. First-team all-conference selection Savana Thomsen returns for the Hornets, though her role will be slightly different this season. As part of a shift from a 5-1 offense to a 6-2, the junior will be adding setting to her responsibilities this season, in addition to her regular outside hitter duties.
Senior Josie Higley will slot in as the team’s other setter. Fellow seniors Kylie Orth and Lydia Decker served as middle hitters for last year’s club and will be back again, though Decker will likely see more time on the outside. Sophomore Daelyn Rieck will also be returning on the outside for the Hornets and junior Tori Underwood will be the team’s starting libero. Senior Brynn Lieders and juniors Harrison Schmitt, Dakota Hoeper, Lilly Brzezinski and Hannah Trush were also mentioned as being part of the regular rotation, giving the Hornets a number of different options to turn to.
“We’ve got some talented girls and we’ve added some height,” Oehmichen stated of this year’s lineup. “Last year, we had the most digs ever recorded for Colby, so focusing on putting them in the right spot and figuring out where to go afterwards will be where we need to go to build on that. We had 20 to 25 girls in the weight room over the summer, so they showed up in droves and will be stronger. You can see that already with the serving and hitting.”
With so many returners and hoping to further implement more of their ideal offense, Colby’s head coach hopes that the Hornets can push for the top of the conference this season, especially with some of the top teams losing key pieces to graduation.
“Columbus lost some important seniors, Loyal and Gilman graduated a decent portion, so our conference should be up for grabs,” Oehmichen said of the Cloverbelt-East. “I don’t think we’ve taken conference for 14 years, so being in the hunt for that has the girls hungry for that.”
The early schedule will be key for building momentum for the Hornets, with a number of tough non-conference matches against quality opponents filling the opening few weeks. The regular season opened with a home match against Stratford on Tuesday, but the next three games will all be on the road, with the Hornets needing to travel to Athens, Edgar and Gilman. Two home matches against Abbotsford and Neillsville do not look to make the path any easier for the Hornets.
Before their regular season began, the Hornets traveled to UW-Stout for a twoday tournament this past weekend. The tournament is the largest Colby will be in this season and featured schools from around the state, many of which are in Division 1 or 2.
The Hornets went 2-6 in the tournament, claiming victories over Luck and Cochrane-Fountain City while falling to Chippewa Falls, Athens, Clear Lake, Regis, Eau Claire Memorial and River Valley. All of the matches ended 2-0 besides the win over Cochrane-Fountain City. The Hornets took the opening game 2519 but then dropped the second 25-15. In the tiebreaker, Colby regained their composure and notched the win, taking the final set 15-9.
