Team Preview
Written by: Brandon McIntosh
The perfect situation is located in a small town east of Moscow. New coach Aaron Dail saw this and jumped at the opportunity to take over an athletic, hungry group primary made up of seniors and sophomores. They have balance, speed, size, and the ability to execute.
What coach wouldn’t want this situation? Coach Dail has a 6’0” volleyball stand out center who isn’t your ordinary center. Abbey Blum has it all-long, athletic, good speed, knowledge, and, oh yes, the size. She isn’t alone. Solid returning teammates join Dail and Blum with seniors Emma Schetzle and Jimmie Gilder. There are sophomores that saw plenty of playing time a year ago as freshmen in post Jordan Fredrickson and guard Kianna Hoskins.
The last three seasons, the Trojans have been working at climbing the tough Whitepine ranks. Last year, Troy fell in the third-place game of District to Genesee, which went on to finish third at State. In fact, the Whitepine finished first, second, and third last year.
The Trojans look for this to be the year to crack the top three.
“We need to risk everything, fear nothing, and have no regrets,” comments first year coach Dail. “The [level of] trust these girls have for each other leads to them playing for the good of the group.”
The Trojans are balanced across the board. They are selfless and possess the ability to score inside and out-Blum and Fredrickson inside, Schetzle, Glider, and Hoskins outside. The pesky guards will be pressuring opposing team’s better players and looking to generate turnovers.
The concerns lie within rebounding and taking care of the ball, two areas the Trojans have struggled with in the past. Coach Dail believes this can get fixed.
Trojan fans, this could be the year for your team. Jump on board early and enjoy the ride. Look for competitive games throughout league and into District. Look for the Trojans to battle for the double play-in game path this season.
|