At first glance, the loss of four-year starter and leading hitter Preslea Reece to graduation would seem like a big obstacle to overcome for the 2015 McDonald County Lady Mustang volleyball team.
But with the five remaining starters back from last year, the outlook for the 2015 season is very promising.
No. ##Name ##Height ##Position ##Grade
3 ##Nicole Salas ##5’8” ##MB/OH ##9
4 ##Raye Pearcy ##5’3” ##DS ##10
6 ##Alexia Kitlen ##5’8” ##OH/MB ##9
7 ##Bailey Tyson ##5’4” ##DS/OH ##11
9 ##Alex Gross ##5’8” ##S/OH ##11
10 ##Faith Curtis ##5’5” ##DS ##9
11 ##Lauren Goff ##5’6” ##L ##11
14 ##Michela Wells ##5’7” ##DS ##12
15 ##Shanna White ##5’5” ##DS ##9
17 ##Bailey Rickett ##5’9” ##MB ##11
19 ##Fleur Mahieu ##5’7” ##OH ##11
21 ##Riley Rickman ##5’7” ##S/OH ##11
23 ##Brittney Stone ##5’8” ##OH ##12
24 ##Brianna Phillips ##5’10’ ##MB/OH ##10
25 ##Mattie Leach ##5’8” ##S/OH ##9
26 ##Aspen Bowman ##5’8” ##MB ##10
27 ##Hollie Garvin ##5’4” ##DS/OH ##10
28 ##Lea Ficher ##5’8’ ##OH ##11
30 ##Destiny Arnall ##5’7” ##S ##11
33 ##Lindsey Limore ##5’10” ##MB ##11
34 ##Emily Landers ##5’9 ##MB ##9
Head Coach: Kacha Kuhn
Assistant Coach: Sara Reynolds
9-12 Girls Volleyball, Fall 2015
Day#Date#Location#Level#Home/Away#Time
Tue#08/18#PreSeason Scrimmage#Varsity#Away#TBA
Tue #08/25#Jasper#Var/JV #Away#6 p.m.
Sat#08/29#Branson Tournament#Varsity#Away#8 a.m.
Mon #08/31#Seneca#Var/JV #Away#6 p.m.
Tue #09/01#Webb City High School#9th/JV/Var.#Away#5 p.m.
Thu#09/10#Carl Junction#9th/JV/Var.#Away#5 p.m.
Sat#09/12#WC Freshman Tournament#9th Grade Girls#Away#TBA
Sat#09/12#Bentonville#Var/JV#Away#Noon
Mon#09/14#Cassville High School#9th/JV/Var.#Away#5 p.m.
Tue #09/15#Neosho High School#9th/JV/Var.#Home#5 p.m.
Thu#09/17#College Heights#Var/JV#Away#6 p.m.
Mon#09/21#Aurora High School#JV/Var.#Home#6 p.m.
Tue#09/22#Mount Vernon#9th/JV/Var.#Home#5 p.m.
Tue #09/29#Joplin High School#9th/JV/Var.#Home#5 p.m.
Sat#10/03#Mount Vernon Tournament#Varsity#Away#TBA
Sat#10/03#Mount Vernon Tournament#JV#Away#TBA
Mon#10/05#Lamar#Var/JV#Away#6 p.m.
Tue#10/06#East Newton#Var/JV#Home#6 p.m.
Thu#10/08/#McCauley High School#Var/JV#Away#6 p.m.
Sat#10/10#Mustang Volleyball Classic #Varsity#Home#TBA
Mon#10/12#Monett High School#9th/JV/Var.#Home#6 p.m.
Thu#10/15#Carthage High School#9th/JV/Var.#Home#5 p.m.
Mon#10/19#Districts#Varsity#Away#TBA
Kacha Kuhn returns for her fifth year as coach. Last year's team finished the season with an 11-14-2 record.
"I am looking forward to a great year," Kuhn said. "This team is a lot of fun to coach. The girls will represent the school very well. I want to thank the district for the opportunity to coach for another year and Sara (assistant coach Sara Reynolds) for the great job she does."
Returning starters are Brittney Stone, Lauren Goff, Bailey Rickett, Alex Gross and Destiny Arnall.
Other key players include Lindsay Limore, Michela Wells, Bailey Tyson and Riley Rickman.
"Brittney will be a strong force at the net," Kuhn said. "She has really improved on her accuracy. Lauren is a very strong passer and we depend on her to serve receive every ball. Bailey and Lindsay will hit from the middle. We should be a much more balanced team than in the past. Bailey also helped us on the back row this summer. Her intensity has gotten better and she has shown a lot of improvement. Alex gives us another outside hitter. She is very strong and plays smart. Destiny is in her second year as a starter at setter. We run a 5-1 (Arnall is only one who sets) so she has a lot of responsibility. She is doing a better job of taking balls on two and will be a threat on offense. We are going to speed our offense up this year and a lot of that is up to her. "
Kuhn said the team's goals are to win 16 matches, finish in the top three in conference and enter the districts a four seed or higher.
"We are an experienced club with a balanced attack this year," Kuhn said. "We also receive serve well with Lauren. She plays in the middle in the back row on all six rotations and controls the offense. She does a great job."
Kuhn said the conference favorites are Carl Junction and Aurora with Mount Vernon, East Newton and the Lady Mustangs not far behind.
"Carl Junction and Aurora are at the top of the conference and it is pretty balanced after that" Kuhn said.
McDonald County traveled to Jasper Aug. 25 to open the season. They are at the Branson Tournament on Aug. 29 before beginning a five-match road trip leading to its home opener on Sept. 15 against Neosho.
Sports on 08/27/2015