By Brenda Erdahl
Sports Editor
It will be a rebuilding year for the Maple Lake High School volleyball team that lost 10 seniors from last year’s squad.
The Irish return two athletes who saw varsity playing time last year – senior Gwen Geyen and sophomore Alex Kiebel. Backing them is a line-up of athletic, multi-sport athletes who may not have a lot of varsity volleyball experience but have been playing the game for years.
Many have played club ball since elementary school, advancing to JV and C teams as they entered junior high and high school. They have experience playing together and are generally passionate about the sport, Head Coach Marty Kiebel said.
In general numbers are down, which is a trend sports across the board are seeing. Kiebel suspects students are still suffering a little from “Covid hangover,” but he also blames the trend on decreased enrollment and more athletic options to choose from. There are no juniors at all out for volleyball this season, but the seventh-grade class brought in 16 newcomers which bodes well for the program, Kiebel said.
The Irish’s strengths lie in their overall skill and knowledge of the volleyball basics. The girls all gets along and that alone will get them far. Several have played together in other sports like softball, and track so they know how to work as a team.
“In general, they are hard workers and my expectations have been high,” Kiebel said. “You can’t control everything in volleyball, but you can control attitude and effort.”