Your future, our focus
Injuries, Youth Slow Early Practices
By RANDAL HOROBIK
Tribune Sports Editor
Patience, they say, is a virtue. When it comes to Northwest College volleyball this fall, Trapper head coach Flavia Siqueira is also describing it as a needed commodity.
One season removed from a 41-10 campaign that saw the team crack the national rankings, the Trappers are now faced with the challenge of maintaining that level. To do so, Siqueira needs to integrate a recruiting class of 10 freshmen into her floor rotation.
"We'll get there, but it's going to be different from last year," Siqueira said. "Last season, things clicked that first week and there was great team chemistry right away. This year, we have a lot of freshmen, and it will take a few matches for things to click. We've got great talent and I'm excited. We'll get there, but it will take some time."
The most daunting challenge for those new faces, Siqueira notes, is getting accustomed to the speed of the college game. Injuries during the first week of practice have also slowed the learning curve in some cases.
"Things move a little faster and it takes a while to get used to that," said Siqueira. "There's also more strategy involved, and sometimes players aren't used to having to read the other team. You can't just step up and hit the ball, and that's an adjustment that some players need to make as well."
Helping to ease the transition for the Trappers' 10-member freshman class is a pair of returning starters in Marisa Shigetomi and Katie Gregg.
Shigetomi played in 141 of a possible 147 games for the Trappers last season as a libero, leading the team in passing efficiency and finishing third for the season with 442 digs. Unfortunately, the sophomore from Honolulu, is among the hardest hit by injury.
"She's undergoing some testing right now to see if she'll be able to play," Siqueira said of her libero. "She's a key player for us. Hopefully everything will be alright."
Gregg, a sophomore middle hitter from Barstow, Calif., led the Trappers with 122 blocks last season and 66 service aces. She also finished third on the team with 273 kills as a freshman.
Outside hitters Irelis Avendano (237 kills in 2008) and Kayla Propes (127 kills) also saw action in more than half of the Trappers' games last year. Outside hitter Rebekah DePesa and defensive specialist Brianna Reed also saw good court time as freshmen. "Our goals haven't changed," said Siqueira. "We want to be one of the top three teams in our region."
To do that, the Trappers will have to navigate a Region IX schedule that includes three teams ranked in the preseason NJCAA volleyball poll. Perennial powerhouse Western Nebraska, 59-4 a year ago, begins the season ranked second nationally. Casper College, which nipped Northwest for the Region IX North crown last fall, begins the year ranked 15th while Northeastern Junior College is 19th.
The Trappers begin the 2009 season outside the top 25.
"That doesn't bother me at all," Siqueira said of the exclusion. "That's not something we've ever gone crazy about. We're just going to work on our team here and not worry about it. We'll see where we are at the end of the season."
That season begins on Friday as the Trappers head west to Twin Falls, Idaho, to take part in the challenging College of Southern Idaho tournament.
"There will be several top- 20 teams there," said Siqueira. "It will be a challenge. For some of our players, I expect it will be a wake-up call to college volleyball. It gives us a great opportunity to learn from every match and to learn what collegiate volleyball is all about."
The home opener for Northwest College, so to speak, will be Wednesday, Sept. 2, when the team plays Rocky Mountain College at the Cody High School gymnasium. The Trappers' first game in Cabre Gym comes Friday, Sept. 4, against Williston State College.
In all, fans will have five chances to see the Trappers in Park County prior to Sept. 17. After that, the program won't play a home contest until Oct. 23. Northwest College finishes the year playing four of its final five games at home before the start of Region IX North tournament play.