Willard seeks Bay title defense

Willard was champion of the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division last year. The Crimson Flashes also made the deepest run of the postseason, falling in a regional final to Ottawa-Glandorf. Huron, perhaps the most consistent team in the area, was barely over .500 and is dealing with an injury while welcoming in a late-summer transfer. Vermilion has a new coach, Margaretta looks to get back to the top of the conference and Edison has to make an adjustment late due to a transfer. Plenty of talent returns around the area as the high school volleyball season starts Saturday. A look at the six teams in alphabetical order: EDISON The Chargers were 9-14 overall and 5-5 in the SBC Bay last season. Edison jumps straight into the deep end during the first week of the season, taking on Norwalk, Clyde, Mohawk and Monroeville. Three of the four won district titles last year while one (Clyde) was a district finalist. "We would like to be in the hunt for the SBC title and make a good tournament run," coach Sean Hoover said. "The biggest key to early season success is limiting errors." Jorja Byington, who led the Chargers with 155 kills, graduated. Back for Edison is its next two hitters, senior Dana Preston (141 kills) and Macari Harris (104 kills). Honorable mention league pick Taylor Wlodarsky (314 assists) and Paige Mcfadden (225 assists) split time at setter last year, but Wlodarsky transferred late in the summer to Huron. "We need to make teams work to beat us, not beat ourselves by making too many unforced errors," Hoover said. Senior Taylor Moore led the Chargers defensively with 451 digs. She was a first-team league selection. Wlodarsky added 284 digs while seniors Ella Booth (201 digs) and Stella Brown (198 digs) bring back varsity experience. "We are a very experienced team," Hoover said. "We have six returning players who have multiple varsity letters." HURON After losing to Galion in a district semifinal, the Tigers finished 14-10 including an 8-2 mark in the league. Huron's leading hitter last year, first-team honoree Azure Waldock with 220 kills, graduated. The Tigers are also starting the season without first-team pick Maggie Orzech, who was second on the team with 175 kills last year, due to a summer injury. "Winning the conference is always a goal for us to shoot for as well as extending our season as long as possible," coach Don Wood said. "The biggest key for us is improving our ball control." Cami Adams had 134 kills last year, but graduated. Back for the Tigers is sophomores Jada Foster (115 kills) and Mya Smith (112 kills). "We have several offensive weapons to go to with this team," Wood said. The catalyst getting the ball to those weapons will be sophomore Reece Hotz, who racked up 581 assists as a freshman. "Ball control is the biggest focus for us to improve upon," Wood said. "Our offensive weapons don't mean anything without improved ball control." Sophomore Adelyn Van Sickle, a honorable mention pick, led the defense with 345 digs. Orzech had 242 digs and Hotz picked 178 digs. "Looking forward to seeing our young team from a year ago mature," Wood said. "We lost some important seniors from a year ago, but we return a good core to improve." MARGARETTA The Polar Bears limped to a 4-19 record last year, including a 2-8 mark in the league. Margaretta had just two seniors, so a group of experienced incoming seniors hope to improve that record significantly. "Our top goals this season are team chemistry and to finish better than we started," coach Sarah Kuns said. "That's always everyone's goals, but we've had some changes in positioning and younger faces added to our roster, so we have to work even harder this year to make it all feel connected. That goes right back to team chemistry." Senior Kenadie Saylor was the lone league honoree for the Polar Bears, being named to the honorable mention team. She had 172 assists and a team-high 119 kills, but will be an outside hitter this year. "Our early successes will come from our senior leaders," Kuns said. "Luckily, the team this year already has an amazing bond and the seniors just continue that into on and off court interactions. This will make a huge difference come game time. Having the leaders on the court who guide and don't dictate makes a huge difference." Raegan Heck, who graduated, was second on last year's team with 111 kills while senior Lillian Belak roped 107 kills. Ellianna Young split time with Saylor at setter, finishing with 211 assists. "I think our strengths this year will be having multiple girls who've played multiple roles for us and having the understanding of many areas of the court," Kuns said. "We are able to make changes on the court that have the confidence behind those changes because the girls have played and understood multiple roles at one point or another." Belak led the defense with 286 digs while junior Ella Limberios was right behind her with 285 digs. Heck added 167 digs while Saylor contributed 162 digs. Saylor said freshmen Renna Keller and Alyssa Reinbolt could make an impact to the varsity team early. "Our weakness, to some, may look like our lack of height," Kuns said. "However, our team is athletic. They can jump higher than some who have several inches on them. We have a solid defense behind those girls as well, so if that ball does get through at the net, we have defenders ready to work hard." PORT CLINTON The Redskins' lone SBC pick last year, Olivia Emerson on the second team, graduated. Port Clinton was 6-17 overall and 2-8 in the league, but replacing Emerson's team-high 252 kills will be key. "Our biggest goal early is to bring a new, young group together and create a strong team," PC coach Kent Felbinger said. "We lost a big group of athletes and the program's leaders to graduation. We'll have a lot of new, young players contributing. It will be fun to see how they develop." The only other player last year to have over 100 kills was Erie Buckley's 104, but she also graduated. The top returning hitter for Port Clinton is senior Marissa Frohne's 93 kills. Sophomore Ella Carmon lined 70 kills. "Our biggest strength is match time effort," Felbinger said. "Rarely do I walk away questioning effort. We mention it daily. It's part of our Port Clinton volleyball standard. Volleyball demands effort. Your attitude speaks volumes. Our team is our strength." The Redskins will also have to replace its setter after the graduation of Maddy Cornell. She tallied 502 assists. Felbinger expects freshmen Lila Bishop and Calleigh Fought to make an impact early for PC. Bishop will start the season in a two-setter system with junior Evalee Cross. "Our weakness is aggression," Felbinger said. "We need to find those attackers to lean on and they need to be aggressive." VERMILION The Sailors are the only team in the Bay with a new coach and that is Sawyer Schafer. Vermilion was 7-16 last year, including a 3-7 record in the league. The Sailors need to find itself offensively after the graduation of Claire Bartlome (240 kills last year) and Peyton Logsdon (227 kills). "Our top goals this season are to grow as a team both on and off the court, compete at a high level every match, and build a culture of discipline, communication and resilience," Schafer said. "While wins are always exciting, I want my players to measure success by the progress we make together and the standard we hold ourselves to each day." Sophomore Sophie Habermehl was the only other player with more than 100 kills last year, putting down 107. Emma Gebhardt, who was at Norwalk her first two years of high school, has transferred back to Vermilion. The Sailors also add senior Lauren Logsdon and junior Faith Sergent, neither of who played last year. "The biggest key to early success will be learning to trust one another and staying consistent in our execution," Schafer said. "If we can master the small details early — serve receive, communication and energy — we'll set ourselves up for a strong start." Erin Ellis graduated after running the offense to the tune of 535 assists. Bartlome led the defense with 342 digs while Logsdon added 264 digs. The top returner defensively is Haley Stepp, who registered 231 digs. "We have an incredibly athletic group of girls this season, along with some strong vocal leaders who set the tone in practice and matches," Schafer said. "This combination of athleticism and leadership gives us a good foundation to compete this year." WILLARD The Crimson Flashes went 22-5 last season and undefeated in league play. After winning a district championship over Galion, Willard won a regional semifinal before the loss to Ottawa-Glandorf, one match from state. The Crimson Flashes must replace Bay Division Most Outstanding Performer Kelsey Lykins, who graduated after a team-high 388 kills. "Our top goal would be to reach our potential by tournament time," coach Ashley Bond said. "We want to become more resilient and be able to bounce back from mistakes." Willard does return its next four hitters from last year: senior Camryn Wiers (206 kills), junior Leah Weiss (188 kills), senior Teagan Schaffer (127 kills) and senior Natalie Slone (109 kills). They will need a setter to find as first-team pick Caitlyn Weaver graduated following 793 assists. "The biggest key early on is to get our players established in their new position and roles," Bond said. "We lost four seniors, three of which were six-rotation players." Morgan Lofland, who graduated, topped the defense with 333 digs while Lykins added 320 digs. Weiss was third on the team with 241 digs. "We will have to work on learning to properly set and close a block as our first line of defense," Bond said. "We have to get our new setters comfortable with their hitters and we need to have mental toughness."