Over the last several years, the Mossyrock Vikings volleyball team has made a habit of advancing deep into the state postseason, both at the 2B and 1B level.
While a state title has eluded them, they have placed in the top three at state in each of the last six seasons, including five runner-up finishes.
Heading into this season, coach Alex Nelson acknowledged that getting back to that point will be difficult, especially considering what they lost from last season’s squad.
Payton Torrey — the 2022 All-Area MVP — Caelyn Marshall, and Hailey Brooks all graduated. All three are now college athletes; Torrey is at Lower Columbia, Marshalls at South Puget Sound and Brooks is at Cal State Bakersfield.
Nelson is confident, however, that this year’s group has the potential to be just as strong down the road.
“It’s (about) getting them back in that mindset that we could be right back in there if we make the improvements that the program has always made,” Nelson said.
Leading the group are three returning starters, all of them upperclassmen. Erin Cournyer is an excellent hitter and setter, and she’ll be seeing plenty of time on both the front and back line, according to Nelson. Abbie Lovan is back as the libero, and Chesney Schultz is back in the middle.
“They’re coming up and filling the roles of the people who left, they’re stepping into those nicely,” Nelson said of the trio. “(They’re) leading the group and expecting a little bit more out of everyone.”
While Cournyer, Lovan and Schultz are set to slide up into the top three spots, Nelson said that the rest of the team is battling for the remaining three spots on the court.
“They’re really fighting out for those positions,” Nelson said. “That’s what you want in a program. People having to fight for a spot because everyone is improving when that happens.”
Nelson also highlighted a few underclassmen who have stood out in practice, including sophomore Adyson Barrows, sophomore Kendall Cournyer and freshman Renzy Marshall.
She emphasized that growth from the younger players will be the key as the team gets deeper into the season.
“They want to learn, and it’s fun when you have a kid that’s ready to learn, eager to learn,” Nelson said. “When you have a kid that’s ready for that, you can be a little bit harder and expect a little bit more. It’s encouraging, and I think we’ll make a lot of growth because of that.”
Nelson said that Thursday may have been the unit’s best practice of the season, and if it keeps up, the Vikings will be a tough out for anyone.
“Today was the first day where I kind of got through to them how much working at that high level will help them improve at a much faster rate,” Nelson said. “And that will get us back to where we want to be.”
