Last year the Owen-Withee volleyball team was young, starting four sophomores. Their season came to an end in the second round of the playoffs, falling to Prentice, who would eventually make it to the state tournament. That experience and the success that they had last season lays the foundation for what they hope to accomplish this season.

Despite losing four-year starter Reina Arndt to graduation, the Hawks return the vast majority of their roster. They will be led this year by their two seniors, Cassidy Graski and Kendall Weiler.

“[Graski and Weiler] have done a great job so far of leading our team,” says Head Coach Anna Syryczuk.

They will be joined by juniors Addie Hatlestad, Kendall Mueller, Madi Mueller, and Kayla Rasmussen.

“All [of the juniors] contribute something unique that helps round out our team,” says Syryczuk.

“One of our team’s biggest strengths is going to be our experience. Having all six of our starters returning from last year should really help us as the season progresses. With everyone returning, we are really looking for cohesiveness on the court,” Syryczuk says about what she believes is the team’s greatest strength, “With most of our starting roster returning this year, we are hoping that our experience helps lead us to some wins,”

But the experience drops off quickly after the starting six.

“We do not have much depth to our bench with only the six starters returning to varsity,” explains Syryczuk.

In any sport there are things players and coaches can control and things they cannot control. Syryczuk says the team is going to focus on the things that they can control.

“We are not a big team in any sense of the word. We do not have much height,” says Syryczuk, “So we will be relying on our grit, hard work, and smart plays to help make up for that. We will rely on our conditioning and grit to get us through those long games.”

Another thing that teams can control is their mentality, something Syryczuk also mentioned, “This year we are going to strive to not dwell on our mistakes and build momentum from our good plays. We want to be in control, but also aggressive. Ultimately, we want to come away with some wins, and have some fun doing it!”

The Hawks stumbled out of the starting blocks last week at the Thorp Triangular, losing in two sets to both Thorp and Gilman. Tomorrow, they travel to Athens to face the Bluejays in non-conference action, the match is set to start at 7:00. They start conference action when they host Columbus Catholic Tuesday, September 17. That match is set to start at 7:15 p.m.