Eagles experienced but still young

There are 26 players out for volleyball at Uniontown this season, including nine returning letterwinners. But, overall, the Eagles will still be a young team as only two players are seniors and four are juniors. Thirteen are freshmen.

That youth was a factor as the Eagles (5-5 in the Three Rivers League, 12-24 overall) won only a third of the matches they played last season. However, head coach Jackie Hall made no mention of it in her responses to the Tribune, although she did stress the need for her team to develop consistency in how they play.

“We have a very balanced team this year,” Hall said. “We have a good variety of hitters along with good defensive players. We will need our defense to be consistent each match to deliver settable balls to our setters, who can then get them to our hitters.”

Senior Maddie Ard will be one of the Eagles’ setters while sophomore Bri Stokes will be the other. They are two of the returning letterwinners along with senior Joy Page, juniors Alissa Button, Sivanah McAnulty, and Lauren Shinn, and sophomores Aiden Holt, Paige Mason, and Karleigh Schoenberger.

Hall will have 12 players on the varsity squad and she expects all of them to play.

“Right now, we’re looking at a variety of combinations,” she said.

Page will be the libero (the defensive specialist who wears the different-colored jersey). Holt and Freshman Allie Fuhrman will see action on the back row during regular rotations.

The front-row hitters will come from a group that includes Schoenberger, Shinn, Button and McAnulty with Ard playing in front when Stokes is setting. Mason, sophomore Libby Schaaf and freshman Danielle Howard are also likely to see time as setters.

As the season begins, Hall said she’d like to see her team work on “consistent communication, holding serve in each rotation (and) working through adversity and challenges when those arise during sets and matches.”

The Eagles’ varsity schedule begins Saturday when they travel to Jayhawk-Linn for the Three Rivers League Pre-Season Tournament at Mound City.

NOTES — The Eagles’ first home matches will take place on Aug. 28 with a non-league triangular versus Erie and Girard. This will also be the first action of the season for the junior varsity....