Photo by Kyle Parmley
Sara Swee (17) sets the ball during a match against Helena on Sept. 26, 2017. Swee returns as Chelsea's setter this fall and is one of two seniors.
Simply put, watching the Class 6A state tournament last fall was a tough pill to swallow for the Chelsea High School volleyball team.
The Hornets put together a strong 2017 season, posting a 35-11 overall record. But when they looked at who was playing in the state tournament, they were left wondering what could have been.
Eight of the Hornets’ 11 losses last fall came to teams that wound up in the 6A state tournament. Chelsea even defeated one of the teams there, Ramsay, during the regular season. And to add insult to injury, two of the teams there were the top two teams in its area.
Pelham went on to win the state championship and Helena is the team that eliminated Chelsea from the area tournament a few weeks prior.
“Throughout the year, all three of us were ranked,” Chelsea head coach Jessica Pickett said. “But we knew we would have to bring our best. We got better as the year progressed. We played Helena very well at the area tournament, stuff just didn’t fall our way.”
There was still a positive spin to be put on the season, however. Chelsea exceeded most people’s expectations after graduating six seniors the year prior, including four who went on to play in college. They started two ninth-graders and progressed greatly throughout the season.
Even though Ashley Mock, Madison Seay and Brittany Stanford graduated following last season, Pickett feels optimistic about what lies ahead.
“I’m expecting big things,” Pickett said. “As a team, we grew a lot. Leadership was something we harped on last year. This year, there are so many leaders out on that court that I’m not going to have to say a lot to get them going.”
On the court, the Hornets will be led by senior Jules Hamer, who has started since her freshman year. Hamer has developed into a strong player over the course of her career and she now plays a vital role for the Hornets in all six rotations.
Sara Swee is Chelsea’s other senior and will handle the setter’s role once again.
Chelsea will have five juniors on the team this fall, including libero Victoria Schmer, who return to the lineup. Morgan McCarthy is back as well. Sarah Moore and Bailey-Drew McIntyre move up from the junior varsity team, while Zoe LaBreche is a homeschooled student who has joined the team.
Amaya Rudolph and Hope Wright each started last fall as freshmen and return as right side players for the Hornets. The other sophomore is Claire Neuberger, who moves up from JV.
The Hornets have a solid amount of experience returning this fall, and Pickett was encouraged by the team’s “competitive” summer.
“We had a really good summer,” she said. “We had some quality wins. We are definitely further along [compared to last summer]. We are tweaking stuff in order to be where we want to be in October.”
Pickett said the team would set its goals in the weeks leading up to the season, but she already had a pretty good idea of how that conversation would sound.
“I know for this team, the goals are going to be high,” she said. “They want to still be playing when that state tournament’s going.”
Chelsea begins its season on Aug. 30 with a tri-match against Jeff Davis and Jemison. On Sept. 15, the Hornets host the Chelsea September SlamFest tournament. Pelham and Helena remain in Area 8 with Chelsea, and Calera joins the area.