Volleyball teams warm up at Summer Spiketacular

SANDUSKY — The high school volleyball season is almost here. But before things begin in mid-August, Cedar Point Sports Center will host its annual Summer Spiketacular — three separate volleyball tournaments — over the next week. "It's a great chance to get competition so close to home," Monroeville coach Kendra Snook said. "We are lucky to have the facility to accommodate and bring in so many great teams from around the state to compete against in July. "These tournaments allow our team to see some strengths and weaknesses early on as well as experiment with potential lineups for the upcoming season." Teams can enter the National or American divisions. There also are junior varsity and freshman divisions. The National division is for teams returning a lot of talent and looking for deep tournament runs. The American division is for teams looking to see where they sit as the season starts. The Eagles will play in the first two Spiketaculars July 18-19 and July 21-22, competing in the National division. Monroeville was 24-2 last season, winning the Firelands Conference with an undefeated 14-0 mark. The Eagles won a district title before losing to Tinora in a regional semifinal. Senior hitters Adysen Adams (268 kills), Alexa Adams (256) and Madison Reiber (240) return, along with senior setter Addison Lyons (514 assists) and defensive specialist junior Addison Homan. "Successes and failures in July do not always correlate to the regular season," Snook said. "We hope for our kids to always work on improving and having fun during the summer. However, our goal is to always be playing our best volleyball in October and not July." Huron will be by far the busiest area team, competing in the first two tournaments, as well as the last one July 25-26. The Tigers entered teams in both the National and American divisions for all three events. "It is a great opportunity to play teams we never get to see," Huron coach Don Wood said. "We get to put our players in different situations to see what their strengths are and experiment with different potential lineups in game situations." The Tigers were 14-10 last year, losing a five-set district semifinal to Galion. Huron returns senior hitter Maggie Orzech (175 kills) and sophomore hitters Jada Foster (115) and Mya Smith (112). "I am looking for our team to be competitive with everyone they face," Wood said. "It is a big step towards the regular season. Anytime you put your team in a competitive situation, a lot can be learned." Clyde will be at the first event Friday and Saturday. The Fliers had a breakthrough postseason last year, advancing to a district final before losing to Lake. Clyde finished the season 17-8. This will be the first time the Fliers participate at the Summer Spiketacular. "I do believe events like this help area coaches evaluate their potential teams against other programs both big and small," Clyde coach Shelley Rogers said. "We graduated five impactful players this past season. I will be looking to see who can step up into those positions and who works best with our returnees. "Sometimes you can have all the talent, but if you don't find the right combination and lineup, it can be troublesome." Hitters Lauren Harrah and Lillian Glass and standout setter DeLani Durst are among those graduated, but senior Brooklyn Hemminger is back after smacking 248 kills. "The teams that will be at Spiketacular will definitely help us pinpoint not only the things we will need to work on, but the skills that we can use to score points throughout our season," Rogers said. "Playing some of the teams that are in our pool will definitely force our girls to step up their game to the next level." Norwalk and Bellevue will both participate July 21-22. The Truckers were 20-4 last year, losing to Columbian in a district final. Norwalk must replace one of the best hitters in school history in Lucy Schlotterer, who clobbered 404 kills last year. "It is a great opportunity to see teams from all over Ohio at a venue right in our back yard," Norwalk coach Sarah Kipp said. "(CPSC general manager) Justin (Kijowski), his crew and Coach Wood do a great job providing these playing opportunities." Sophomore Maddie Gamble had 152 kills last year while classmate Ainslee King added 135. Junior Emily Tyler is back after 721 assists last season. "We are excited to have this great group of dedicated girls coming in this season," Kipp said. "They have been working incredibly hard this summer in the weight room. We are all excited to get on the floor together and get the season started." Bellevue finished 12-11 last year, losing to Clyde in five sets in a district semifinal. The Lady Red's two top hitters — Brooke Brown and Lila Krall — both graduated. Senior Kaitlyn Turinsky is back after 145 kills while junior Finley Lapata cracked 129. "You also get to play a variety of teams that help to prepare for fall matches," Bellevue coach Liana Petitti said. "I also like how many matches we are able to play in just a few days. It gives us a chance to see a variety of players and work on seeing different matchups." Payton Hicks (421 assists) and junior Ellie Freitag (261 assists) split time at setter last year, but Hicks has graduated. "The main thing I am looking for in my team throughout this tournament is to be competitive and versatile," Petitti said. "We had six seniors graduate, all of whom saw significant playing time. This is a great opportunity for a lot of our younger players to have a chance to show what they can do and all the growth they have made in the off season. "We will still be missing a few players due to out-of-state tournaments for other sports, and some vacations, but that will provide plenty of opportunity for other players." Perkins will get its first action under new head coach Brandon Duvall on July 18-19 and July 25-26. "We have had numerous open gyms this summer which have been very competitive," Duvall said. "At this point, we know each other too well. An opponent outside of our team could expose areas of our game that we are not aware of — what are we good at, what needs improvement and what do we need to immediately address." The Pirates were 6-18 last year but return their top three hitters in seniors Ferrell Coleman (237 kills) and Micah Normington-Slay (164) and sophomore Addison Mason (110). Sophomore Braelyn Davie tallied 543 assists last year as a freshman. "I want to see how we compete as a team and how each person responds to both good and bad moments," Duvall said. "Most important, who are our leaders? Who can motivate the team during adverse moments and who inspires everyone to raise their level?" St. Paul will compete July 21-22. The Flyers won 20 matches last season, including district and regional titles in Div. VII to reach the state semifinals for the first time in 15 years. St. Paul had just one senior, but it was an All-Ohio record-breaking setter in Kristin Matlack. "We're excited for it and are energetic to be back in the gym together and get some team bonding going on," St. Paul coach Angie Kalizewski said. "We're figuring out the new way with a new year. These two weeks, they're not official, but it's definitely our kickoff to get started. "We're just looking forward to seeing what we can do and then focusing on the start of the season like we do every year." Other local teams participating in the National division include Danbury (July 25-26), Vermilion (July 25-26) and Edison (July 25-26). St. Mary Central Catholic and Vermilion will each have a team in the American division July 21-22 and Margaretta will be represented in the American division July 25-26.