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Paynesville Press - August 21, 2002

Volleyball team aims for .500 record

By Andy Jones

spiking the volleyballAfter coming within one win of a .500 record a year ago, the Paynesville Bulldogs volleyball team is hoping to win at least as many as it loses this year.

Last year, the Bulldogs were 10-11 overall and 5-7 in the West Central Conference North.

The team returns three players with varsity experience: junior Amanda Glenz and seniors Morgan Martinson and Mindy Meagher.

Last season, Martinson had the most kills on the team with 137. Meagher had the most solo and assist ace blocks with 69.

The team did lose six seniors from last year's team: Melissa Bachman, Jen Habben, Lisa Hemingson, Heidi Jansen, Sara Lieser, and Ashley Wall. Jansen earned all-conference honors, and Hemingson earned honorable mention honors.

Captains for this year will be the team's three seniors: Martinson, Meagher, and Laura Stoneburner.

Morgan Martinson pounds the ball over the net after receiving a set from Jessica Paul.

Head coach Sheila Mayer is excited to have a fair amount of experience returning to the squad and a lot more height than in the past few seasons.

Other varsity players will be juniors Jessica Paul, Amy Roberg, and Jessica Virant; and sophomores Brittany Lieser and Val Callenius. This leaves three open spots for the varsity squad, which may not be filled until the end of the season.

The girls' goals for the season are: to have an above .500 season; to beat long-time rival Sauk Centre, who eliminated them from the playoffs last season; to have a serving percentage of above 92 percent; to keep positive attitudes; to have good team unity; and to have a hitting percentage of 85 percent or above.

The Bulldogs had a .500 record last season before losing in the second round of the playoffs to Sauk Centre, which went on to play in the state tournament.

Earlier in the year, the Dogs won a set against the Mainstreeters for the first time in three years. In the playoffs, the Bulldogs took a 6-0 lead in the first set, but Sauk Centre came back to beat them 15-13. The Streeters took the next two games to end Paynesville's season.

The Bulldogs will open their season by hosting BBE on Tuesday, Aug. 27, with the B- and C-squads starting at 6 p.m.

Mayer is in her tenth season with the Bulldogs, and her eighth season as head coach of the Bulldogs. Dawn Knoll is in her fourth season as the junior varsity coach, and Krysta Gunderson in her second season as the C-squad coach.

Volleyball Schedule
Aug. 27 BBE 6 p.m.
Sept. 3 at ACGC 6 p.m.
Sept. 5 Sauk Centre 6 p.m.
Sept. 9 NLS 6 p.m.
Sept. 10 at Melrose 6 p.m.
Sept. 12 at LPGE 6 p.m.
Sept. 14 Minnewaska Tourney 9 a.m.
Sept. 17 Albany 6 p.m.
Sept. 19 at Cathedral 6 p.m.
Sept. 24 Eden Valley-Watkins 6 p.m.
Sept. 26 at Sauk Centre 6 p.m.
Sept. 30 at Kimball 6 p.m.
Oct. 1 LPGE 6 p.m.
Oct. 3 at Albany 6 p.m.
Oct. 8 Cathedral 6 p.m.
Oct. 15 Melrose 6 p.m.
Oct. 24 Subsection 7 p.m.
Oct. 26 Subsection 7 p.m.
Oct. 29 Subsection 7 p.m.
(B- and C-squad volleyball matches start at the given times, with the varsity starting about 90 minutes later. Subsections is varsity only.)



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