Sports
Ladyjacks seek balance, harmony
Matthew Semisch
08/19/2014
The Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) volleyball team is entering a 2014 season that looks as though it will be a learning experience for everyone involved.
There are at least five fresh faces on the Ladyjacks’ roster for 2014, and first-year coach Allison Scherr will be on the lookout for a few walk-ons once the DCB 2014-15 school year starts next Tuesday.
Eight players from last year’s team return, too, so there should be a healthy balance in terms of experienced personnel and new players that are getting their first taste of college volleyball.
Those that are returning for their sophomore seasons, how ever, will be keen to erase the painful memory of their 2013 campaign in which they finished with a 6-23 record.
Five Ladyjacks from last year’s team have since moved on. Setter Ashleigh Aufforth, middle hitter Leah Parizek and outside hitters Krista Lesmann, Dariann Freer and Halle Schumann all exhausted their junior college eligibility in 2013.
As this year’s preseason training got underway last week, Scherr said that there has been a positive attitude on display thus far in the Ladyjacks’ camp.
“It’s been going really good so far,” Scherr said. “The first few days has been as much about conditioning as anything else so the kids are a little tired, and as we’ve been doing two-a-days at the start, some fatigue is to be expected.
“What I’ve really liked so far, though, is our attitude. Our girls’ roles on the team will become more defined as we move along and our first games come up here pretty soon, but the girls are gelling together well and coming together as a team, and that’s really good to see.”
Scherr is a former Ladyjack volleyball player herself, and she also played for DCB’s women’s basketball team before transferring to Valley City State.
This season will be her first as a coach, though, and she said she’s excited to be experiencing first-hand how coaching differs from playing.
“I think at the start it was a little weird seeing how the other half lives in terms of coaches and players, because I’m more used to playing volleyball than I am coaching it,” Scherr said. “It’s been a fun experience so far, though, and I think to a degree we’re all learning as we go.
“I’m picking up what so far has been really good, positive experience as the girls’ coach, and having played for the team I feel like I’m able to enhance their experience as players for DCB.”
As preseason preparations only recently began, Scherr said it’s difficult to know just how well this season might pan out for the Ladyjacks. When asked what will be the keys to DCB’s success this season, though, she said she’s hoping that harmony within the team can keep the Ladyjacks on the same page and working towards the same goals.
“Our strength will be getting along as a team, and that’s incredibly important in volleyball,” Scherr said. “The sport’s 90 percent mental, so when one person’s crabby, that can really easily drag the rest of the team down, so I think that will be our biggest positive this year.
“The girls will work hard together, and we’ll need to. We don’t have one particular power hitter that other teams are going to have to watch out for, so we’ll need everyone on the same page so that the teamwork’s there and so that we’re balanced on the court and also on the bench.”
Sophomores expected to lead the team this year are Tessa Walters and Lauren Pederson. Both are North Dakota products from Makoti and Rolla, respectively.
“A lot of the team we’ve got this year is really fresh in terms of playing time,” Scherr said, “But I think people are going to have to keep a close eye on Tessa and Lauren in the back of our lineup.
“Tessa’s got a really good hit on her and she makes herself difficult for the other team to try and neutralize. Lauren’s back, too, and we’re going to use her as a libero this season because she brings so much to the table in terms of what our back row is trying to do out there.”
The Ladyjacks’s season opens unofficially on Wednesday with an exhibition match in Devils Lake against Lake Region State.
DCB’s first home game of 2014 will then take place seven days later when Bismarck State visits the Woodshed.