VOLLEYBALL: Perkins, Vermilion seek top of Lake; Huron, Edison, Margaretta battle in Bay

There's been no better four-year stretch in Perkins volleyball history than the last four years, but the Pirates aren't planning on slowing down. "We have a good core coming back," Perkins coach Heath Hamilton said. "We hope to make a little bit of noise this year again." Perkins will be one of the SBC Lake Division's top teams after winning the league last year with an 11-1 record (24-3 overall). The Pirates played all the way to the regional final before their season ended one step away from the Division II state final four. Four seniors graduated from last year's Perkins team, including Lake Division Player of the Year, setter Mollie McVeigh. But the Pirates bring back an arsenal of strong hitters, led by Elizabeth Ziegler, Kelley Baker and Emma Manley. Ziegler (311) and Baker (302) combined for more than 600 kills last year, and Manley added 184. Ziegler was especially dominant, hitting at a 42.3 percentage. "The girls have really been putting in the time and they want to get back to where we were last year, that's a tough feat," Hamilton said. "We'll just see how it goes." The task of replacing McVeigh and setting up those hitters will fall on a handful of players, starting with Madison Satterfield. Perkins also returns its top digger from a year ago, Cameron Kaufman. "It's a lot of repetition and timing, but it's also knowing situations and knowing where we want the ball to go in certain situations," Hamilton said of getting setters in sync. Elsewhere in the Lake, Vermilion shapes up as a major contender. The Sailors return five All-SBC players from a team that finished 9-3 in the Lake in 2020, including three second-team hitters: Jenna Peters, Maddie Stout and Gracie Starcovic. That trio combined for 625 kills last season, along with Kate Colahan's 167 kills coming back, too. Tiffin Columbian also put together a 9-3 league record last season and brings back libero Bri Landers (414 digs), now a senior. Bellevue, which finished in fourth place in the Lake at 7-5, returns first-team All-SBC hitter Kailee Felder, who had 187 kills as a sophomore in 2020. Clyde, Norwalk and Sandusky make up the rest of the Lake Division. The Fliers bring back their leading hitter from last season, Emily Hammer. The Blue Streaks return an honorable mention All-SBC selection, Sydney Downing, along with their 2020 digs leader, Maleah Clinton. Tight battle expected in Bay Huron has been the class of the SBC Bay Division in recent years and journeyed all the way to a 2020 Division III state title. But the Tigers graduated standouts Georgi Moody, Makenna Schafer, Claire Solberg, Sophie Lee, Sofia Stefano and Alizia Legando from a team that finished 25-2, 10-0. As far as state championship contributors go, Rae Roldan (126 digs) and Izzy Cozzie (106 kills) are back for Huron, but the Tigers will be pushing many players into larger roles than they've held before. "It's a new challenge for them," Huron coach Don Wood said. "They relied on the girls that graduated an awful lot. They're also ready for their time. It's their time to step up." Wood expects Huron to hang its hat on floor defense in 2021. After years of having blocking prowess at the net, the Tigers won't block as many attempts this season, so the back line will be called more consistently into action. "I think they're gonna improve steadily, and the objective is by the time October rolls around, people won't want to play us," Wood said. "... What that'll look like? Who knows? We know we've got a high ceiling and just want to find where that's at." Edison was runner-up in the Bay a year ago, finishing 7-3 in the league. The Chargers return strong attacking power, led by senior setter Olivia Vitaz and senior hitters Kira Appeman, Lydia Woodyard and Lindsay Roberts. Appeman recorded 224 kills and 345 digs as a junior and is committed to Division II Ohio Dominican to play volleyball. Vitaz dished out 529 assists while adding 171 kills. Woodyard and Roberts totaled another 210 kills between them. "(The four seniors) have been doing a good job of leading and running some things in practice and helping the younger girls out," Edison coach Sean Hoover said. The biggest focus for Edison in the preseason has also been defensively, where three of its top four back row players graduated. "You're learning to figure out what balls they can get to and things like that," Hoover said. "It's been more of a learning curve than some of them expected. Defense and serve receive are a big part of everything." Margaretta expects to contend for the Bay Division title, too. The Polar Bears return first-team All-SBC libero Kenna Stimmel, second-team All-SBC hitter Devyne Eisenhauer and honorable mention hitter Kylie Leibacher. They also bring back middle hitter Olivia Saylor, only a sophomore, along with setter Jilienne Nason. Stimmel set the Margaretta single-season record with 494 digs in 2020. Saylor recorded 71 blocks. Eisenhauer had 364 kills, followed by Leibacher's 201. And Eisenhauer, Stimmel, Leibacher and Nason all served above 90 percent last season. "Kenna does an amazing job in anything she does," Margaretta coach Sarah Kuns said. "Devyne plays all the way around. Julie plays all the way around... Kylie's a powerhouse outside, and she's come every year with leaps and bounds from where she was the year before... (Saylor) worked hard over the winter and expectations for her are pretty high." In the past, Kuns said, her team has focused on day-to-day challenges. This season, though, the Polar Bears are thinking bigger. "They know SBC is in their sights right now," Kuns said, "and they know they want to make it a little farther than district finals, which we made last year." Oak Harbor, Willard and Port Clinton also feature talent that could impact the Bay Division standings. The Rockets bring back two players who earned All-SBC accolades, Grace Wolf and Reagan Schultz. Port Clinton's leading blocker from last season, Alliyah Wharton, heads up a returning group that also includes PC's top digger, Kennedy Adkins. "We played Oak Harbor in the summer, and they looked good," Hoover said. "... Port Clinton improved a lot last year and I'd expect them to keep getting better." In the River Division, St. Mary Central Catholic brings back senior Alexa Samstag, who led the Panthers with 176 kills last season to go with 37 blocks. --- Returning 2020 All-SBC players SBC Lake Perkins: Elizabeth Ziegler, hitter (1st team); Kelley Baker, hitter (2nd); Emma Manley, hitter (HM) Bellevue: Kailee Felder, hitter (1st) Columbian: Bri Landers, libero (2nd) Vermilion: Jenna Peters, hitter (2nd); Maddie Stout, hitter (2nd); Gracie Starcovic, hitter (2nd); Hallie Habermehl, setter (HM); Kayla Kearns, libero (HM) Sandusky: Sydney Downing, hitter (HM) SBC Bay Margaretta: Kenna Stimmel, libero (1st); Devyne Eisenhauer, hitter (2nd); Kylie Leibacher, hitter (HM) Edison: Olivia Vitaz, setter (2nd); Kira Appeman, hitter (2nd); Lydia Woodyard, hitter (HM) Oak Harbor: Grace Wolf, hitter (2nd); Reagan Schultz, setter (HM)