The Joplin volleyball program has plenty to be excited for in the upcoming 2022 season.
After graduating three players from last season’s 15-12-5 campaign that included a district title, the Eagles return five seniors and a junior who either started or saw heavy rotation a year ago. With that experience coming back, coach Desiree Felker is excited for the possibilities with this team in her second season at the helm.
“We saw a lot of success towards the end of our season last year, and we want to build off of that going into this season,” Felker said to SoMo Sports. “Winning a district championship last year was something these kids hadn’t experienced, and they have set their goals much higher coming into the season.”
Joplin welcomes back senior setter Kaya Cooper, senior OH Abby Edwards, senior S Abby Hembree, senior DS/L Jayla Hunter, senior DS/L Paisley Parker and junior MB Bailey Owens. The Eagles also expect senior OH Serafina Auberry, who has varsity experience, junior MB/RS Raelin Calderon, junior MB/RS Janiah Vaughn, junior DS Abigail Eckert and sophomore S Adalynn Noirfalise to make and impact on varsity this season.
“We have a very athletic group of kids in our rotation, and that is going to help us in long rallies and tough games,” Felker said. “We have a relentless, gritty approach to defense that allows us to extend rallies, and if we can clean things up when we get out of system, and we can find people to put the ball away, we can be pretty scary.”
And while the Eagles didn’t have a lot of time together over the summer as a complete group, Coach Felker believes that some of the adversity her team dealt with during that time will be beneficial in the long run for Joplin this season by making them a more well-rounded team. From the progress she saw over the offseason, she is excited for this team’s potential when they hit their stride.
“We have worked a lot on playing to our strengths as a team,” Felker said. “Working on playing fast and setting the tempo, and bringing things back under control when things get chaotic. We want to be extremely tough behind the service line and we want to win the serve-pass game night-in and night-out. If we can do that, we will win some of those games we lost last year, or that we split in tournaments. Our strengths this year are a little different from our strengths last year, so it has been an adjustment for some of our kids.”
In order to get where they want to be, the Eagles are going to have to continue the progress shown in the offseason over the first several weeks of the season while the varsity unit logs more time together on the court. Timing and consistency will be Joplin’s biggest obstacle on offense as the season gets underway, according to Felker, but the good news is the defense and ability at the net to put pressure on other team’s offense will help balance out their play.
“If everyone knows where we are trying to go, and is willing to do what it takes to get there, we can do big things,” Felker said about the keys to success for her team this year. “We have some great leaders in our junior and senior class. They are excellent at setting the example, bringing the younger girls under their wings and working their butts off everyday. We have a lot of girls that I think are going to do great things to impact our program’s culture and their impact will be felt for years to come.”
Joplin opens the season on the road at Pembroke Hill on Tuesday before hosting Cassville at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
