Girls Varsity Volleyball Team Young But Talented

There is a widespread issue on high school sports teams throughout the Northern Virginia region this fall—youth and inexperience. Several 2010 line-ups were stacked with seniors who graduated last June, making space for rising JV players and some fortunate incoming freshmen to take their places and/or start for their respective squads this season.

But must the words “inexperience and youth” equate with negative connotations? Wildcats Head Coach Ken Moser does not believe that to be the case. He is counting on the youth of his varsity volleyball team to keep Centreville in contention this season. Given his roster has just one senior listed for 2011, the team is on track in the district and has looked competitive, but lost some very close games in matches to Langley and Madison this past week. Therefore the Wildcats sit in the middle of the pack with a record of 2-5 as of Sept. 16.

“My team is very young and I’m starting two sophomores and four juniors. But we’ve got a lot of club volleyball experience on the court,” Moser said. “But we don’t have a lot of team experience as far as playing together and that’s what we’re working through right now.”

Just four points decided two of the three games against Langley. The Madison match was even closer as the Wildcats lost two of its five games by only two points. An ace here or there and Centreville might be near or even at the top of the Concorde. But that is the game of volleyball. Moser knows that his squad will get back to the kind of wins it had through eight of the past 10 seasons.

“We’re a solid program across the board and that’s what the girls are focusing on. I have a brand new coach with me this year in Rebecca LaBrake,” Moser said. “She played for me and played division two ball in college. She laid it out on day one to the players,  ‘It’s time to put something back on that banner.’”

The twelfth-year coach said he likes the pool of talent on his varsity team this season. His roster exists of just one senior, four juniors and six sophomores. Last season Centreville had eight seniors on varsity and most of them started. However the past two years were sub .500 seasons and the fresh young talent has provided a boost in motivation for the Wildcats. The Simmons sisters bring explosive play at the net adding to the sound defense led by junior libero Haley Santymire.

“We have two tall sisters in Grace (junior) and Janine Simmons (sophomore) - both six-foot plus. Not a lot gets past them," Moser said, also pointing to powerhouse player Haley Santymire, who started last year as a sophomore and was honorable mention All-District. “This year the team is trying to back to what we used to do in years past when we were won district titles and made it to the state tournament.”

The coach believes nailing down fundamentals such as proper technique is crucial, especially with an inexperienced team. Perhaps “inexperienced” is the wrong word, as the majority of Centreville’s players have a vast amount of club experience which Moser says is “important for getting touches on the volleyball.” And with those touches comes the experience necessary to win those tight matches against district teams the Wildcats will face next month.

“If we can get a little more technically sound and work together better as a team and we’ll be there and we’ll make some noise this year. Technique is being worked on every single day in practice,” he said. “The more matches, the more sets—the more cohesive this team is going to be. You can already see that with the tournament we played.”

A strong serve can change the momentum quickly. Fortunately, Centreville looks stalwart with its serve throughout the early part of the 2011 season. Moser had a few jump servers on his roster that can ace the best of players at any given moment. However he has one rule regarding serves.

“My rule is one ace to one error,” he said. “And miss out, not into the net.”

As far as his philosophy and expectations are concerned, Moser said he would rather have his team play the best teams possible than ones that do not make it far into the playoffs. His belief is that if players don’t get “tested throughout the season” then they will not be prepared enough to qualify for the district, regional or state tournament. Moser can back that reasoning up with the fact his program is one of the only in the area that has made it to states eight out of 10 seasons.

The 2-5 record does not concern Moser at this point. The coach would rather his team focus on finishing strong and gaining experience needed to get into the playoff tournaments. The Wildcats have the talent, are gaining confidence and hold trust in each other.

“I’m not a big fan of setting goals. My goal is to be very, very competitive and make some noise,” he said. “Make it to regionals and make it to states.”

For more information on Wildcats volleyball, visit: http://www.eteamz.com/nrvca/