's volleyball team is looking to rebound from a 4-13 campaign of a year ago when it hosts Alexander Hamilton in its opener for this season at 4:30 p.m. today.
“We’ve always had problems with serve-receive and we really have been working a lot on that," Coach Nancy Neumeister said. "I feel much more comfortable with it."
The Panthers coach knows what her squad is going to encounter on opening day.
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“Hamilton has a real good serving team,” Neumeister said. “Our girls are ready for that, they are looking forward to playing them. We are hoping if we do well on serve receives, it will be a step in the right direction for the rest of the season.”
Looking to help the Panthers this season is senior setter Marisa Portanova, who has been on the varsity since her sophomore year and has turned into a real solid player, according to Neumeister.
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At the net, senior outside hitter Lorena Maceira provides the Panthers with steady all-around play.
“She has become much more consistent in hitting,” Neumeister said. “She is just a strong, solid player.”
Neumeister feels senior middle blocker Jen Peterson is going to do a really good job at the net blocking. She practiced on her game a lot and it has shown in the preseason, according to the Panthers coach.
“She played off-season club ball,” Neumeister said. “She really improved on her hitting. We are really looking for her to step up and be a force at the net.”
Junior middle blocker/opposite hitter Stephanie Rogers has become a really aggressive player.
“Her intensity is something that all the kids on the team feed off of,” Neumeister said. “She is a real spit fire and her teammates get really excited when she is really pumped up.”
Senior outside hitter Alta Maartens is a real steady player, who has played club ball the last three years and is a real good leader on the team.
Another senior, Julia Smith, has become a strong, confident middle hitter according to Neumeister.
“We were pretty young, but they had another year of being together last season,” Neumeister said. “They are really cohesive, they are very comfortable with each other. They are all friends. I feel pretty confident that we are going to have a much better season this year. We had some games last year that we should have won, we just couldn’t put them away. I think this year that we will definitely be able to do so.”
If they can do that, the Panthers can reach their goal of making sectionals.
“Last couple of years, we haven’t made sectionals,” Neumeister said. “I just think this year we will be. I think we can be in the top three of our league, I think we can be a lot more competitive.”
So does Maceira, who believes two keys to success are communication between teammates and picking up the energy on the floor.
“There is so much communication now between everybody, we know each other so well,” Maceira said. “So we are ready to take the next step to the sectionals. We have been practicing, we have been playing and we are definitely ready.”
