The Lady Hilltoppers will enter the 2017 season looking to turn the corner and make states since 2011 after a 2016 season that had many 3-set frustrations that led to a sub .500 record.
The 2016 squad opened the season 0-3 with 3 consecutive 3 set losses but none more painful than the first loss to Union who beat SHS in 3 despite Summit winning set 1 25-9. The Farmers stormed back in set 2 with a 25-19 win to set up a classic 3rd set. Summit trailed 24-20 late in set 3 but an ace and 3 kills had the Hilltoppers on the brink of an amazing win. Although Union served for the match at 25-24, Casey Nardino hit a key kill to tie the set and followed up with an ace to give the Hilltoppers match point at 26-25. But that was the end of the Maroon and White's scoring. That loss set the tone for a frustrating month as SHS went 2W-9L with 4 3-set losses.
The mental fortitude of the squad was outstanding as the team pulled itself together and had a banner October, going 6W-6L against the tougher part of its schedule. After 3 consecutive 3 set losses to open October, Summit closed the season with a 6W-3L record and is hoping that last trend carries the team into 2017. Clearly, the seven 3 set losses in 2016 were a major factor in the team's fortunes and were the direct result of an offense that, although improved, could not muster enough points to overcome untimely errors.
The 2017 squad is quite different from the last 3 years. This is the tallest squad across the front row that SHS has fielded in 4 years and also the youngest. Last year, SHS had 12 seniors on the squad but this year, only 4. For the first time since 2010, 9th graders are starting on Varsity (Williamson and Stocks) and the team has 6 players (Inggs, Pulgar, Stocks, Trindell, Thompson, Williamson) who have played off-season club volleyball, the most players in its history.
The team will rely on the decision-making ability of its setter, McDonnell (Sr.), to run a faster tempo offense and the offensive contributions of returners Inggs (Jr. MB), Trindell (Jr. MB/OPP) and Thompson (Sr. OH), all who have club experience. The team will also rely on the passing of Pulgar (Jr. DS) and Williamson (9th Lib) to set up the offense and anchor the defense with the athletic Della Piazza (Sr. DS) rounding out the defensive efforts and playing a vital role on serving. But the team will also rely on its unprecedented depth as the bench looks to play a vital role in the team's offensive and defensive success.
On offense, returner Samay (Sr. OH) and newcomers Nardino and MacPherson (Jr. OHs) will add to the offensive efforts from the outside and newcomers Barsh (Jr. MB) and Goudreau (Soph. MB) will bolster the middle attack and defense. Liu (Jr. DS) and Stocks (9th DS) will provide much needed defensive and serve receive options while Skrobala (Jr. S/OPP) will add a needed backstop to the setting and blocking position.
In the team's 3 scrimmages, here were some scoring highlights:
TOP 5 PASSERS (TOTAL ATTEMPTS - Scrimmages and Practice)
Williamson 98
Thompson 52
Camille 46
Samay 45
Pulgar 33
Stocks 33
TOP 5 SERVE RECEIVE RATINGS (Scrimmages and Practice)
Williamson 2.01
MacPherson 1.78
Samay 1.78
Thompson 1.73
Pulgar 1.67
TOP 3 POINT SCORERS (K+BLK+ACE)
Inggs 18
Williamson 8
Nardino 8
Samay 7
MacPherson 7
Thompson 7
TOP 3 KILL TOTAL
Inggs 15
Williamson 7
Thompson 6
Samay 6
MacPherson 6
TOP 3 ACE SERVERS
Della Piazza 6
Nardino 4
McDonnell 4
Williamson 2
TOP 3 DIG TOTALS
Williamson 17
Della Piazza 9
Thompson 7
TOP 3 HITTING EFFICIENCY
MacPherson .455
Samay .333
Inggs .280
TOP 3 KILL %
MacPherson 45%
Samay 44%
Inggs 44%
Williamson 40%
TOP SERVING %
McDonnell 92%
Williamson 91%
Thompson 75%
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