Time to soar
Expectations are not something that the Oak Mountain High School volleyball team is shying away from.
“Without a doubt, our goal is to win state,” said coach Tien Le.
The Eagles graduated one regular starter from last year’s group in Jacoby Sims. Nearly any other season, Sims’ powerful presence on the right side and her great athleticism would be extremely difficult to replace. But Oak Mountain has a player ready to step in and take that spot in Cameron Rueschenberg.
Rueschenberg logged no court time last fall while she recovered from a knee injury, but her presence in the rotation should make the Eagles’ on-floor look almost identical.
“We’ve got everybody else returning in all the positions,” Le said. “Just everybody contributing and everyone else just getting a little better in each position, that should be enough to compensate for the loss of Jacoby.”
By no means do the Eagles expect a state title to be handed to them, but they certainly have the capability to compete for one if they improve week to week and peak at the right time.
“Things change a lot from the first match of the season until the time state gets here,” Le said. “Team chemistry makes a huge difference.”
There is no shortage of experience for Oak Mountain. Having a roster with eight seniors virtually guarantees that. The depth of quality returnees gives them options all over the court.
On the outside, Torie Denkers — who can put the ball down from anywhere on the court — is back, along with Maddie Moss. With Rueschenberg back in the fold though, the Eagles may move Moss to the setter position. Another option in either spot is Ashley Treace, who can set and is also a solid outside hitter.
Along with Moss and Treace, Kathryn Beard and Katelyn Frey are also potential setters for the Eagles, but any could move to a defensive role if they lose out at the setter spot.
Much of the lineup shuffle could depend on Kendall Scharbert, a 6-foot-3 middle who the Eagles are hoping will take a big leap in her final season after she came on strong last year.
“If we are going to dominate, Kendall is the key,” Le said.
Kaitlyn Lund and Leah Nielsen are two other middles that will receive playing time as well.
On that back row, Brie Palmer and Keller Lovvorn each spent time as the team’s libero last fall and are battling for the same role again. Whichever one is not the libero on a given day can also slide over to play defense. Kaylin Warren and Lauren Price round out the varsity squad.
The Eagles pulled off a hard-fought, five-set victory against Bob Jones in the regional tournament last year to qualify for the state tournament. Although there wasn’t much success to be had at the state tournament, just having the experience in that setting will do wonders for Oak Mountain if it is able to return this year.
“That’s huge,” Le said. “It’s a totally different experience, a totally different set of pressure you have to deal with.”
Oak Mountain opens the season by hosting 15-time reigning Class 3A champion Bayside Academy Aug. 31, before participating in the Juanita Boddie Tournament at Hoover Sept. 1-2. Other key matches in September include a road date at Hoover Sept. 12 and a home match against Vestavia Hills Sept. 28.