New sport, whole new challenge
Perennial district champs have new coach
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| Ryan Prewitt photo Seniors on the Francis Howell Central girls volleyball team (from left) are Front row "? Casi Woods, Katie O'Leary and Emily Mich; Back row "? Lauren Ruhmann, Danielle Kopp, Kara Seckman and Emily Sieb. |
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McAfee, the Francis Howell Central boys volleyball coach in the spring, will for the first time in his career coach female players as the head coach of the girls volleyball team. It's a different but welcomed change, as he was "kinda burnt out" on football.
"I thought it'd be a good time to move on to something different and get my enthusiasm back up," said McAfee, who takes over for Kristin Marie Adams. "So far I've enjoyed working with the girls and I enjoy the sport of volleyball. All the stars aligned and (the coaching change) happened. I feel good about the decision."McAfee takes over a program that has experienced its share of success the last two years. Adams guided the Spartans to two consecutive Class 4 District 7 championships including a quarterfinal appearance last season. Despite winning the opening quarterfinal game 25-23, Howell Central was unable to fend off Incarnate Word for a trip to the state championships in Warrensburg. Word, the winner of three straight state volleyball titles between 2003 and 2005, took the final two games 25-16 and 25-19 and finished fourth at state.
Perhaps the outcome would have been different had standout player Calli Norman not busted her thumb during warm ups. She held back nothing and showed her guts by laboring through the match. But the Red Knights' postseason experience bled through.
Now the remaining players hope to use the experience they've gained to try and make another run at the postseason.
Although McAfee has a way with getting the most out of his players, it's going to be a give-and-take situation on both ends. He admitted to some trepidation at first about the new position but said things have progressed smoothly in the preseason.
"I'm pleased so far with how the girls work and their level of skill," McAfee said. "They've been very open to the types of adjustment I've want to bring in and make in practice that will be different than what they're used to doing. They've been very receptive and their attitude is fantastic."
The gap left by Norman's graduation will be difficult to fill. Her offensive talent was unmatched in the Gateway Athletic Conference South but the team has plenty of firepower left over.
Senior Emily Sieb was second behind Norman last year with 145 kills in 406 attempts but is still hampered by a knee injury suffered last season. McAfee will bring her along slowly and avoid any setbacks on her way back to full health. She will be used in a defensive role at first to ease stress on her knee.
Senior Kara Seckman returns as a middle hitter and one of the team's best passers. Senior Lauren Ruhmann was also an important part of last year's team and led in serves received with 374. Ruhmann will play as an outside hitter this year and both seniors will frequently play all six rotations.
Also on the outside this year will be junior Kaitlin Crafts, who McAfee considers to be one of the team's most explosive offensive players, and senior Danielle Kopp.
At 6-feet, junior Megan Dillon will be a middle hitter with perhaps the best blocking ability on the team. Sophomore Mandy Svoboda will see also see time at the net while seniors Emily Mich and Casi Woods will both see time at the weak side.
Senior Katie O'Leary and sophomore Maggie Mueller will be the setters in McAfee's 6-2 offense. They take over for Brianna Bernardy, who was the primary setter last season while logging 732 assists.
Howell Central had its first scrimmage on Tuesday night. And while the Spartans were a bit "off the mark" according to McAfee, they're starting to buy into his new coaching philosophy and should be more consistent with passing and communication by the start of the regular season.
"Until I've been through a season I don't know how we'll stack up but we'll have a competitive team and we'll be able to play with just about anybody," McAfee said.
Howell Central, coming off a 26-7-1 season, tied with Howell North and Howell last year for a three-way split atop the GAC South. The sister schools all had 5-1 conference records.
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