BLANCHARDVILLE — The Vikings graduated a senior class filled with accolades this past spring. Of the six players from last year’s team that graduated, five were all-conference and all-area. Even though there are just four returning letter-winners this fall, coaches Tori Leonard and Liz McGowan are looking for every member of this year’s varsity team to step up their game.
“Adjusting to the loss of six seniors who made up a great deal of our lineup will be a challenge,” Leonard said. “While these are tough shoes to fill, we have full confidence in our new senior class and the underclassmen that they have the knowledge and skillset to do so.”
“As coaches, one of our goals is to establish a positive gym culture where our players understand their roles in the program and have a sense of belonging while also pushing them to grow as individuals and as a team. Another goal we have is to instill a winning mindset within our girls that drives our program to an improved record from the 2021 season,” McGowan said, as the Vikings went 12-13 overall and 5-7 in the Six Rivers East.
Senior Chloe Schraepfer is back as setter and outside hitter, while seniors Kyra Chrostowski and Trinity Gruenenfelder return as defensive specialists. Senior Sienna Runden is an outside hitter that also returns.
“We are excited to have four returning letterwinners who we hope will step up and take on some leadership roles without our program,” Leonard said. “We are also excited for the energy that we foresee some of our underclassmen bringing in as they fill our open varsity roster slots. We hope that as we create a brand-new lineup that it fosters a positive, yet competitive, climate day-in and day-out in our gym.”
The Vikings got a taste of the new lineup during summer league play. The players learned not only fresh chemistry within the rotation on the floor, but saw a variety of attacking from opponents, something the coaches said would be helpful against the rugged Six Rivers East schedule.
“With Monticello making it to the state tournament last year, having the conference player of the year returning, and the way they played at summer league definitely puts them on our radar as top contenders for our conference,” McGowan said, adding that the coaching in the league is as good as ever. “We don’t want to count anyone out of the running. We will focus on each opponent one at a time and play our game.”
