GSL Preview: Volleyball

Offense

Size matters. Mead has the height advantage in the league, with seven players 5-foot-10 or taller. Senior outside hitter Kady Try, a 6-0 transfer from Brentwood, Calif., will be a key newcomer to the league. Ashley Hutchinson, a 6-0 outside player, is a two-time state champion and will bring experience to the team. Middle blockers and sisters Emma (6-2, junior) and Alexis (6-4, freshman) Olgard are also players to watch. Senior Janae Forney (5-8), a returning starter for LC, will be a force at the net. Last season Forney averaged 5.25 solo blocks a match and led the Tigers with a .414 kill percentage. Erica Ehlo and Hannah Zimmerman also return for the Tigers. Zimmerman, a senior middle blocker, had a .401 kill percentage last year while Ehlo, a senior, will move from middle to outside this year. Ferris senior Maddy Lorenz will switch from outside to middle this year.

Setting

The all-important position of setter will see many new faces this year. LC will start with a 6-2 offense and junior Laurie Yearout will move from right side to setter after the Tigers lost both starting setters. Senior Kelsey Rickard will also start. Junior Karyn Mockel will start for Mead. In last year’s regional tournament, Mockel led the Panthers to a regional title after All-GSL setter Amy Herron injured her ankle. Mockel also started in every match at the state tournament.

Questions

Who will win the Mead-LC showdown? Where do other teams in the league fit in the picture? Mead will be an easier target after losing six starters last year. LC lost five starters, two of them setters and league standout Ivy Bush. The teams meet tonight in non-league action at LC at 7.

Ferris returns five starters and will also be in contention. Ferris coach Stacey Ward said her team is “much more experienced than last year, with much more depth.” Ward added, “With Mead graduating so many starters, the league should be more balanced than in previous years.”