A closer look at the 2014 State College Area High School girls’ volleyball squad:
Head coach — Chad Weight.
2013 record — 22-5-4, 15-1 conference.
Key losses — Taylor Lee, Christine Irwin and Abby Harrington.
Key returnees — Kyla Irwin, Jenae Moran, Cindy McNulty, McKenzie Sullivan and Rosie Sowers.
State College girls’ volleyball head coach Chad Weight says the 2014 version of his team will be different than in the recent past. The big hitters on the outside are gone, and the team will have to rely on ball control, defense, and serving.
After a 22-5 campaign in 2013 (15-1 in the Mid-Penn), the tradition and winning know-how is certainly there, but the players will have to adjust to a new style.
Strengths — One of the strengths of the team, according to Weight, is the chemistry among the players.
“This group works well together,” he says. “I think we’ll serve well, we have a good number of servers. We’re not the big, physical team we have been in the last four years, so we’ll have to rely on ball control and defense.”
Concerns — “Not nearly as big,” Weight says. “The last couple of years we’ve had some pretty dominant outsides that have been all-state caliber kids. Cristine was a 5-10 All-State player, and Taylor was a 6-3 All-State player. We’ve lost some kids, but I think we’ll figure it out.”
Outlook — “The first big test is the Garden Spot Tournament,” Weight says. “A lot of the state’s elite will be there. The kids are going to let us know what we have to do. What we look forward to, especially in the Garden Spot Tournament, oftentimes it lets you know where you are and where everybody else is. So that’s a good starting point to let us know what we have to work towards.
“Despite losing some players and not being the big, physical team, the chemistry part goes a long way. That helps a lot of problems. So we look forward to what they can do.”
Circle these dates — at Garden Spot Tournament (Sept. 6); vs. Carlisle (Sept. 9); vs. Cumberland Valley (Sept. 11), at Mifflin County (Sept. 15), vs. Central Dauphin (Sept. 16); at Red Land (Sept. 18).
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