Heights spikers aim for improvement

They took their fair share of lumps a year ago with a young, inexperienced roster. Now that Wisconsin Heights’ girls volleyball team has another year under its belt, coach Katie Doescher believes bigger and better things await. The Vanguards opened their new season Saturday at the Monroe Invite. And after finishing 5-22 last year and losing in the first round of the playoffs, Doescher & Co. hope the Vanguards are headed for a turnaround. “We have been a young group the last couple of years, so the core of our team is returning this season,” Doescher said. “This team has so much potential.  “Last year we were competitive and often the matches we lost were well fought. This year we are going to be working to start strong and finish strong every rally, every set and every match.” Junior libero Maya Luko, junior defensive specialist Vanessa Wagner and sophomore middle blocker Sonja Severson will lead the way. All three were integral parts of last year’s Vanguards’ team and will be key components again. “Maya, Sonja and Vanessa are constants for us and provide outstanding heart, hustle, and passing,” Doescher said. Junior middle blocker Lauren Smith, senior outside hitter Lydia Crowe and junior outside Izzy Sutherland will be key offensive players for the Vanguards, as well. “They have the ability to kill balls, read the defense and make smart plays,” Doescher said.  Senior Haydan Louis takes over the setter role, and Doescher says: “She brings great court awareness.” Junior Ayla Schwarz is another returnee who is a serving specialist that can fill several roles. Newcomers such as defensive specialist Lorelai Sutherland and attackers Addie Duhr, Brenly Schoenemann, Eva Beuthin and Brie Passage will all play key roles, as well. Mia Blicharz will also work at setter. “We have quite a few new players this year, including freshmen and sophomores, who are going to contribute both on and off the court,” Doescher said. Heights finished a disappointing 2-8 and in fifth place in the six-team Capitol Conference last year. The Vanguards are hoping the large number of returnees, plus some talented newcomers leads to much different results. “We will have a tough conference with every opponent being a team you cannot take lightly,” Doescher said.  “We need to go into every match knowing we need to battle point by point and be resilient. We have a lot of versatile players and talent. If we can keep our focus on playing together as a cohesive team, we have the ability to really make progress and elevate.”        WISCONSIN HEIGHTS    VOLLEYBALL ROSTER No. Name Pos. Yr. 1 MAYA LUKO L 11 3 IZZY SUTHERLAND OH/S 11 4 SONJA SEVERSON MB 10 5 AMELIA BLICHARZ S 09 6 EVA BEUTHIN MB 09 7 ADDIE DUHR RS 10 8 HAYDAN LOUIS S 12 10 LAUREN SMITH MB 11 11 BRIE PASSAGE RS 12 12 LYDIA CROWE OH/RS 12 13 BRENLY SCHOENEMANN OH/RS 10 16 LORELAI SUTHERLAND DS 09 17 AYLA SCHWARZ OH/RS 11 24 VANESSA WAGNER DS 11