Staci Saunders is back on the sidelines for the Joplin High School volleyball team.
A longtime former coach of the Eagles, Saunders is once again in charge of the JHS volleyball program, this time in an interim role, after Desiree Felker resigned this summer.
“I’m so excited for this upcoming season,” said Saunders, who spent 10 years as Joplin’s head coach before retiring from coaching at the end of the 2020 season. “They are a great group of girls who work their tails off. They’ve gone through a lot of change this summer and have handled it with grace and integrity. And I have a great coaching staff (Carly Locke and Lindsay DeWelt) that has stepped up this summer to help with the transition.”
Entering the 2023 season, the Eagles must overcome the loss of six senior starters. Among the losses to graduation are the always-important libero and setter positions.
Joplin returns four players with prior starting experience — senior outside hitter/middle blocker Bailey Owens, senior right side hitter Raelin Calderon, senior outside hitter Janiah Vaughn and junior setter Adalynn Noirfalise.
The 5-foot-11 Owens was a first-team all-district and second-team all-conference selection last season.
Saunders expects Owens to have a standout season.
“Bailey will be a key player in our offense,” Saunders said. “She finished last season with 323 kills, 54 blocks and 107 digs. She is a six-rotation player that can hit from anywhere on the court. She’s a great leader and we will be going to her as much as we can this year.”
Saunders noted Calderon brings leadership and confidence to the team, while Vaughn is moving to outside hitter after playing middle and on the right side last season.
Noirfalise gained varsity experience as a sophomore and will take on a bigger role this fall.
“She had to step up at the end of the year when injuries plagued the team’s two senior setters,” Saunders noted. “She’ll be the quarterback of our offense and will be expected to run the floor for us. She brings consistency and a calm to our team.”
Junior middle blocker Amy Kessler and sophomore middle blocker Aubrey Strickland are two players who could make an impact at the varsity level this fall.
Seniors Abigail Eckert and Avery Bermudez and juniors Phia Vogel, Lucy Erisman and Gracie Sofia are also competing for varsity positions, including the starting libero/defensive specialist spots.
The Eagles went 16-17-1 last year, a record they’d love to improve upon this fall.
Saunders is optimistic the Eagles have the pieces in place to put together a solid season.
“We are going to surprise some people,” Saunders said. “We lost six seniors last year and a lot of the key positions will be newcomers, but they have come to the gym everyday ready to get better. We are working on becoming a team and it’s exciting because they are showing so much growth and they have a high ceiling of ability. We have great senior leadership and they have instilled confidence in the younger girls.”
To Saunders, the keys to success this fall aren’t complicated.
“We’ll have to serve and serve-receive consistently in order to be successful this year,” she said. “We have all the key players we need to be successful. We’re going to just need to play together and trust the process to get to where we need to be.”
After a jamboree at Carthage on Aug. 22, Joplin opens the season on Aug. 29 at Pembroke Hill.
Three players with prior experience who are expected to be key performers this fall are seniors Logan Lee and Rachel Martin and junior Kailie Layman.