Waterville volleyball team has high hopes

By Doug Flanagan

The Waterville metformin hydrochloride and alcohol High School volleyball team was very competitive last season. The Shockers went 8-5 during the regular season to finish in fourth place in the North Central Washington 2B League north division, advanced to the district tournament and just missed out on a state berth.

The squad lost just two players off last year’s team, and will feature a solid core of returning players that have talent and experience.
So why can’t the Shockers go as far as they did last year, or maybe further? Head coach Jill Moomaw doesn’t see a substantial reason why they can’t.

“I expect the girls to be able to do as well or better than last year,” said Moomaw, now in her 11th season as the Shockers’ coach. “We’ve got a good dynamic so far. The kids are positive and working hard. They key for us will be coming together and figuring out the right combinations, but we should do fine.”

The right combinations will definitely involve the team’s four returning starters — senior setter Alyssa Moomaw; sophomore middle hitter Diana Davila; junior middle hitter Kassidy Simmons; and senior outside hitter Briana Hinderer.

Hinderer will most likely lead the team in kills this season as the Shockers’ first offensive option after experiencing a breakout junior season a year ago.

“Briana gives people fits with her off-speed (attacks), and she uses angles to be successful,” Jill Moomaw said. “She’s got a good trajectory, so she doesn’t get blocked a lot, which is great. She covers the court really well, and she’s incredible defensively. She was our best defensive player last year.”

Jill Moomaw will also rely on her daughter to provide senior leadership.

“Alyssa sees the court well on both sides,” Jill Moomaw said. “She sees open holes and is able to push the ball in and get easy kills with dumps that way. Her jump-float serve is definitely something that other teams don’t like to figure out. They look like they’re going out of bounds, and they hit the end line. She’s consistent with that, and she’s really aggressive. As far as her defensive ability goes, she can get the ball up and in play so somebody can deliver a hit.”

To start the season, Alyssa Moomaw and Hinderer will be joined in the main rotation by Davila and junior Kamryn Shafer as middle hitters and sophomore Kathleen Schmitz as an outside hitter. Sophomore Hanna Clements will also play a big role for the Shockers as well.

Jill Moomaw said serving will be a strength for her team this season, but the players will need to improve their passing if they want to compete with league favorites Brewster, Liberty Bell and Pateros.

“I’m pleased to see our serving strength,” she said. “We’ve got some versatility and some players who are evolving with jumps and different things, which will help out. I think we have a little ways to go on our attacks, but eventually once we get everybody passing to the setter, the attacks will follow.

“Our passing has been erratic, so we’ll really need to get some consistency to that so we can set it up better to have more options. We’re a young team, which will play a factor, so we have to learn to be confident and aggressive.”

“I think chemistry will definitely be key for us. Everyone seems to have positive attitudes with each other. If anything, they get frustrated with themselves and not each other. We just have to reach each other with a willingness to grow and learn and have a good attitude.”

The team’s first game is Tuesday, when it hosts Almira/Coulee-Hartline.

“We might be a little off at the start of the season,” Jill Moomaw said. “But eventually I think we’ll be able to find our stride and get our roles settled and take care of the things we need to take care of, so I think we’ll be in the mix.”