By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After several years of rebuilding, the Southeast of Saline volleyball team will enter the 2022 season fresh on the heels of a 16-16 campaign, ready to take the next step with new opportunities ahead.
Ashley Gilpin returns for her fourth year as head coach of the Lady Trojans and has high hopes for what SES might be able to accomplish this year.
“We were proud of our .500 season last year because we had been slowly building up to it,” Gilpin said. “We want to have a winning record but I believe that if we can get our chemistry flowing that we can make it to state. Nobody has written that down but it’s on everybody’s minds.”
Much of that success will hinge on a few new pieces that will step up to replace graduating seniors like Karsyn Schlesener and Ivy Douglas, alongside a strong cast of returning veterans.
“Our biggest strength is in our well-rounded roster,” she said. “We have strong girls at every position and we really feel like we don’t have any holes this year.”
While SES certainly boasts the depth of a contender, the Lady Trojans will still need to shore up their ability to defend and block at the net, two things that hampered Southeast in big sets last season.
“If there’s anything we’re going to have to continue pressing and working on throughout the season it’s those two things,” Gilpin said. “We’ve put in a lot of work in the offseason and we’re making strides there but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Aiding Southeast at the net will be a pair of returning middle blockers in Christina Wingo and Macy Bunch.
“We have two middles that are fully capable of getting to the pins to block but they're both sophomores and they’re a little bit raw,” she said. “They have so much potential though and I don’t think it will take them long to close that gap.”
Joining the attack on the front line will be outside hitters Lexi Jacobson and Reagan Goetz who put up big numbers throughout the 2021 campaign.
Everything up front will once again run through returning setter Brielle Ptacek, while veterans like defensive specialist Chase Gilpin fill out the back line.
The Lady Trojans will also get a boost from newcomers like Brooke Johnson, who should add a spark as an all-around utility player this season.
Southeast of Saline will begin the 2022 campaign on Sunday, August 28th when they host Clay Center and Minneapolis in Gypsum.
For more on SES volleyball all season long stay tuned to the Salina Post.