Coming off of a state championship is a great feeling, but it also makes the hunger even greater to return to that level. With 10 returning seniors, coach Tom Schaffer has a fully stacked team that will be graduating this year and they want to make one last run at state. Varsity volleyball is having a stellar season so far, claiming their second Conference title in two years. They hope to have a chance at the back-to-back state title as well, but have a strong St. Mary’s side in their way.
“St. Mary’s will be our biggest competition for state; they are having a really good season so far,” senior Matt Deay said. Deay is the Middle Hitter for the varsity squad. St Mary’s is who the Colts beat during their summit of the state cup. This year St. Mary’s has an outstanding middle who is really athletic. He is slightly new to volleyball but will still be an obstacle to work around.
“One of the big things that we have been working on in practice is setting up the middle hitter,” Deay said. In volleyball it is important to be able to set up the middle hitter so the other team honors it. If you do not try to set up the middle hitter they can drift off of him and only defend the outside hitter making their job a lot more difficult, but assistant varsity coach Nathan Wilson has faith in them.
“We expect a deep run at state, we really want to be back… our team has great chemistry, they have played together for a while,” Wilson said. Most of the seniors have played on the varsity team since they were sophomores, Buffum and Domalewski being the only four year players.
“We occasionally run set plays, one of them is a fake between the hitters which draws out the opposing middle,” senior Mark Diekroeger said. But most plays are not set, which is where chemistry becomes important. Most plays happen as you go so you need to know your teammates well in order to execute the moves. In addition to having good teammates, a good coach is always important.
“I have learned a lot from Schaefer and Wilson; they see things I don’t and they help me on what I can do in order to improve,” Diekroeger said. A good coach can always improve their players, which Schaefer and Wilson have.

The Future is Bright:

There will be quite a few spots open on the varsity team next year with 11 seniors graduating.
“Charlie Meier doesn’t start this year, but still gets playing time even in our most important games,” Diekroeger said. While Meier is already on varsity, it is very likely that he will be an important piece going into next year.
“Jonah Hartsook and Jack Williams are two JV players that will have a chance at varsity next year, as all of our setters are graduating,” said Deay. Coming off of four strong years from the current seniors, they hope to have another strong season next year.