Girls Volleyball in the Region looks to strike hard and fast for the 2019 season. With talented teams like Crown Point, Lake Central, Laporte, and more--volleyball season will be intense. We invited Region coaches to give us their early outlook, and here’s the result.
Lake Central High School
Lake Central volleyball program has been known as one of the best around for many years, with talented players such as Maggie Mulligan, Emma Best, Ashleigh Griffin, and Joie Mulligan. They are coached by Matthew Clark.
“I think we are situated to be one of the teams competing to be at the top of the DAC (Duneland Athletic Conference) this season. We have four returning starters this season and have a good mix of youth and experience. Our depth will be a strength, and we have potential to do good things this year,” Clark said. “One of our goals is to get healthy. We have two sophomores, Caroline Krueger and Maddie Vandermeer, who are in the process of working their way back from injury. Caroline was a varsity starter as a freshman, and Maddie was poised to make the leap to varsity and play on the right side for us this year. If all goes well we might see them take the court at the end of the season. We do have excellent depth though, so we haven't lowered our goals or expectations. Our goal is to be in the mix for the top of the DAC conference, which won't be easy because there are a lot of good teams returning, and everyone got better this year. We should compete for Sectionals, and with a win there would be in good position to compete for a regional title.”
La Porte High School
Another strong team will be the La Porte Slicers. They have a strong showing of return players and also should be among the best in the Region. They are coached by Cassie Holmquest, who has confidence her girls will compete hard.
“We’ve evolved into a faster, more disciplined team over these past four years which has exceedingly raised the level of our play both offensively and defensively; making us top DAC contenders year after year. Passionate upperclassmen leadership combined with a competitive group of underclassmen sets a solid foundation for our 2019 season,” Holmquest said.
“We absolutely expect to be a top contender for the DAC, and to make a strong run come tournament time.”
Valparaiso High School
The Valpo Vikings look to have another good season under head coach Katie Lenard. They will be led on the court by Maya Coady, Megan Gatz, Talyn Watkins, Kennedy Wagner, Camryn Kreul.
“I am very optimistic about the team this year. They are working really hard in practice and team chemistry is great,” Lenard said.
Stay tuned to NWI.Life, Valpo.Life, LaPorteCounty.Life, and Portage.Life for season-long coverage of these and many more teams!
Editor’s note: Don’t see your favorite school here? Have the coach email share@greatenews.life and we’ll include their insights, too!