POTENTIAL FOR EXCELLENCE
SCC volleyball team returns with leadership, experience and depth
By Tyler Anderson
tyler@calhouncountyphoenix.com
Next week, the sun arises anew at South Central Calhoun and its volleyball program.
Over the past couple of years, the Titans – guided by SCC head volleyball coach Mark Schaefer and his staff – have built themselves into a possible force to be reckoned with.
With a nucleus of five All-Conference selections in seniors Riley Batta (first team), Keira Hammen (second team) and Kylee Schleisman (second team), and sophomores Jayci Graeve (third team) and Brenna McAlister (honorable mention), SCC wants to continue to build from a 22-18 overall record and an 8-3 record within the Twin Lakes Conference in 2021.
This season, the Titans are eyeing a TLC championship – their first since since 2018. With leadership, talent, experience and depth, that could very well happen.
With Schaefer, it all starts with Batta and Hammen.
“Riley and Keira are two of the best hitters in the conference, but are also probably two of the best blockers that I have ever coached,” Schafer said.
Last year, Batta accumulated 164 kills, 180 digs, 37 blocks and 42 service aces. Hammen complemented Batta by racking up in 153 kills, 73 blocks, 53 digs and 39 aces.
Commandering the back row is Schleisman, who will seek to capitalize on a season that saw her compile 250 digs and 26 aces.
“Kylee Schleisman, is one of the most premier liberos in the area,” Schaefer said. “She has been so coachable and she is one of the quickest players that I have seen. She is so quick that ‘she could steal your eyeballs when you're not looking.’ Her positioning on defense has really improved from last year, and I think she is only going to get better.”
Since emerging as the Titans’ top setter, Graeve has become a major player in the SCC offensive machine. In her freshman season, Graeve tallied 648 assists, 112 digs, 62 kills, 36 aces and 12 blocks. Her assist total was good enough for 19th in Class 2A alone.
“Our setter, Jayci, is just coming back off of a leg injury during track season and is just getting back into the swing of things,” Schaefer said. “She has been looking stronger and stronger every day.”
McAlister was another newcomer who turned heads last season, netting 164 kills, 153 digs, 51 aces, 33 assists and seven blocks. According to Schaefer, McAlister has made some serious strides recently.
“Brenna was also an All-Conference pick as a freshman last year,” said Schaefer. “But she has really started coming on this past week.
The Titans are not limited to just those five all-league players. Right next to them are junior Mollie Monahan, senior Addy Geno, senior Samantha Stuart, senior Elysia Smith, sophomore Norah Riedesel, sophomore Alexa Holm and sophomore Brooklyn Pruitt.
“Mollie is our other middle and she is one of the hardest working kids I know,” Schaefer said. “She received our team spirit award last year and is the most encouraging kid you will ever meet. She is always cheering others on.”
“The best thing about all these kids is that they have been working very hard and have taken it upon themselves to make the atmosphere in the gym much better than it was last year,” Schaefer continued. “The other kids in the mix for the varsity team are Addison Geno, Samantha Stuart, Elysia Smith, Norah Riedesel, Alexa Holm, and Brooklyn Pruitt. All of these kids were varsity letterwinners last year, so we have a lot of returning experience from last year.”
Speaking of Smith, Riedesel and Holm, Schaefer was quick to praise their tenacity.
“What I'm excited to see is the play of the three most relentless players on our team in Elysia, Norah and Alexa Holm,” Schaefer said. “They all are relentless hustlers and refuse to let any ball hit the floor. They are all so unselfish, and three of the most coachable kids that I have ever coached. I would say that they all just bring a positive energy to the team that I hope is an inspiration to others.”
“Elysia and Alexa have both improved their passing tremendously and are both contenders for our right back position, but both will see extensive time playing in the back row because they both are hustlers,” Schaefer added. “Norah and Addison are both working at the right front hitting position. They both bring unique strengths to the team, and both have been working at multiple positions to give our team some flexibility in the case of injuries.”
Through 39 matches played, Riedesel (72 digs, 19 assists, two kills) has gained a lot of experience in 2021, while Geno (45 digs, 25 kills, 15 aces and four blocks) has been complementing her teammates by starting in 18 matches and getting playing time in 36 matches.
“I call Norah our ‘swiss army knife,’ because she can do just about anything: set, hit and also play in the back row,” Schaefer said. “She is one of the most valuable players on our team because of her versatility, her coachability and the positive energy that she brings onto the court.”
Schaefer revealed that when the Titans scrimmaged for the first time last Friday, they looked “pretty good.”
“They were very coachable, and I think we will be much better defensively than we were last year,” said Schaefer. “We have several kids that just bring a relentless attitude to the team, and I'm hoping that energy becomes more contagious as the season goes on.”
Stuart and Pruitt will help with serving and coming off of the bench.
“Samantha and Brooklyn both have the potential to be great servers for our team, and are also back up players in some of our positions,” Schaefer said.
There is one player that Schaefer advises Titan supporters to keep an eye on, as well.
“One player that may be a newcomer to the varsity is Nicole Meyer,” Schaefer said. “She has really been hitting well and she is very coachable. The greatest strength that is emerging from our team is the play of our back row players. They have been playing very well.”
Over the course of the season, the Titans will get to enjoy familiar settings quite a bit. SCC begins the regular season against Ridge View on Tuesday at the SCC High School Gymnasium in Lake City, hosts a conference triangular with GTRA and St. Mary’s of Storm Lake on Sept. 1 in Lake City, welcomes in competition for the SCC Early Bird Tournament (Sept. 3) and for the Master Blaster Tournament (Sept. 10). Both tournaments are located at the SCC Middle School Gymnasium in Rockwell City.
Then, the Titans go up against Pocahontas Area and Southeast Valley on Sept. 22 in Lake City, before bringing archrival East Sac County on Oct. 6 for Senior Night.
Overall, SCC will enjoy six home dates in the autumn of 2022.
“Playing at home is definitely an advantage to us, because we have some of the greatest volleyball fans around,” Schaefer said. “The student section always has a lot of fun, and they bring a ton of energy to the girls.”
While the Titans will have to contend with Newell-Fonda and the Raiders for TLC supremacy, SCC will battle both of those squads for a conference title and could even push for a deep postseason run.
“Newell-Fonda and East Sac County are the teams to beat in the conference race,” Schafer said. “They are the two most solid programs in our conference. I think our girls have the potential to be an excellent team. They have been working hard to try and revive our program back to the place where it was just a few years ago. They are doing their best to turn the tide, and their best is all that I ask of them.”
SCC took part in several scrimmages before their season opener against the Raptors, traveling to Jefferson to face Greene County on Thursday, providing a preview with the Gatorade Scrimmage on Friday and facing off against Denison-Schleswig at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The latter two scrimmages will be held at the SCC High School Gymnasium in Lake City.
SOUTH CENTRAL CALHOUN VOLLEYBALL
2022 VARSITY SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Location
August 23 RIDGE VIEW LAKE CITY
August 27 at Humboldt Tournament Humboldt
August 30 at Panorama, Greene County Panora
Sept. 1 GTRA, ST. MARY’S* LAKE CITY
Sept. 3 SCC EARLY BIRD TOURNAMENT ROCKWELL CITY
Sept. 8 at Alta-Aurelia* Alta
Sept. 10 SCC MASTER BLASTER TOURNAMENT ROCKWELL CITY
Sept. 15 at Emmetsburg, West Bend-Mallard* Emmetsburg
Sept. 17 at Carroll Tournament Carroll
Sept. 22 POCAHONTAS AREA, SOUTHEAST VALLEY* LAKE CITY
Sept. 29 at Manson-Northwest Webster Manson
Oct. 6 EAST SAC COUNTY LAKE CITY
Oct. 13 at Newell-Fonda, Sioux Central Newell
Oct. 15 at Winterset Tournament Winterset
Oct. 17 Regional Tournament TBA
Oct. 19 Regional Tournament TBA
Oct. 24 Regional Tournament TBA
Oct. 26 Regional Tournament Final TBA
Oct. 31 IGHSAU State Volleyball Tournament Xtream Arena, Coralville
Nov. 1 IGHSAU State Volleyball Tournament Xtream Arena, Coralville
Nov. 2 IGHSAU State Volleyball Tournament Xtream Arena, Coralville
Nov. 3 IGHSAU State Volleyball Tournament Xtream Arena, Coralville