Troy spikers looking to move up

With fire in their eyes and power in their hits, the Troy High School volleyball team has intentions of making a little noise this season in Class B.

The Lady Trojans are coming off an 8-13 season but showed promise with good improvement from week to week. Four starters return from that team and coach Sandra Jansma said they are excited.

“I can’t say enough how great this is going to be,” Jansma said. “We have a lot of power, hitting-wise and serving-wise, and we’re very aggressive in the back row. It’s going to be hopefully a real intense team.”

Seniors Kristin Parks, Ashley Paasch and Ashley Suber, and junior Alyssa Olds, are all returning starters. Senior Jessica Lyons and junior Kimmy Klin have made their presence known in practice. Juniors Jackie Pepiot and Brittany Bradbury and freshman Michaela Curry round out the nine-player varsity squad.

Alicia Anderson and Molly Harpole represent the lone losses to graduation.

In all, Jansma saw 28 girls come out for volleyball, including the 5-foot-10 Curry who gives the Lady Trojans some height at the net.

“We’re going to mix it up quite a bit and make sure everyone fits into their spots nicely,” Jansma said. “We just want to be very aggressive and not play on our heels or down to the same level when we’re playing lesser opponents.”

Jansma said the biggest area of work heading in revolves around serve receiving.

“Our receive is our big thing … we just need girls to step forward and pass the ball,” she said.

Troy indeed hopes to find a groove this season to compete against the likes of Eureka, Thompson Falls and Bigfork for the district title. Eureka and Thompson Falls traditionally put strong squads on the floor while Bigfork is joining the conference down from Class A.

“We have a very competitive season ahead of us, that’s for sure,” Jansma said. “I think this group will rise to the occasion.”

In addition to the coach’s positive outlook, the Lady Trojans also head into the season with a new facility in the Troy Activity Center. Although some will miss the home-court advantage of fans overflowing the bleachers close to the action, the Lady Trojans overall will benefit.

“It’s great, we have a lot more room,” Jansma said. “We can do so much more.”

Joining Jansma and Destinie Meyer on the coaching staff this season is Joleen Huntsberger, who will head up the C team.

Troy opens the season on Aug. 29 with a trip to St. Ignatius for the Mission Tournament.

Schedule

Aug. 29 at Mission Tournament, TBA

Sept. 3 Mission, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 4 at Eureka, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 8 at Bigfork, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 10 Thompson Falls, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 12 Florence (at Eureka), Noon

Sept. 19 at Valley Christian, 1:30 p.m.

Sept. 19 at Loyola, TBA

Sept. 26 Darby (at Mission), Noon

Oct. 1 Noxon, 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Plains, 3 p.m.

Oct. 6 Eureka, 4:15 p.m.

Oct. 9 at Mission, 4:15 p.m.

Oct. 10 Stillwater Christian, 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 15 at Thomp. Falls, 4:15 p.m.

Oct. 16 at Stillwater Christian, 4:15 p.m.

Oct. 17 Bigfork, 3 p.m.

Oct. 22 at Noxon, 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 Plains, 3 p.m.

Note: The district tournament is scheduled for Oct. 30-31 at Troy. The divisional tournament is scheduled for Nov. 5-7 at Superior. The state tournament is scheduled for Nov. 12-14 at Bozeman.

Start times listed on the schedule could include C team and junior varsity matches.