The state volleyball title has been tantalizingly within reach for Valley Catholic in the last decade.
The Valiants have had outstanding teams reach the state championship match, only to be overpowered by Sheridan in 2008, Santiam Christian in 2013 and Sisters last year.
This season, though, Valley Catholic looks like the heavy hitter. The Valiants enter the season ranked No. 1 in the OSAAtoday Class 4A coaches poll.
“For once we have a little bit of height on our side,” said Becky Kemper, in her 15th season as Valley Catholic’s coach. “We have really solid hitters. I’m excited about our prospects this year. I think we match up well against any 4A team in the state.”
The Valiants lost a big chunk of their offense with the graduation of 6-foot outside hitter Lizzy Osborn, but they believe they can build a more diverse attack around 5-11 senior outside hitter Kayla Robbins.
“We can’t just rely on Lizzy and Kayla to carry the team,” Kemper said. “But all these returners coming back, knowing they’re going to have to step up to replace the hole that Lizzy left, I see them doing that in practice, rising to the occasion.”
Valley Catholic is counting on Robbins to produce at a high level after splitting the go-to role with Osborn last season.
“We just need Kayla to do the same thing she did last year, and just have the others distribute out a little more,” Kemper said. “Kayla is a quiet leader, but she’s a leader in terms of her court presence.”
The Valiants bring back their starting setter in senior Allie Merz. She has grown more than an inch to 6-0, which gives the team a new dimension.
“She’ll bring more of a block in the front row,” Kemper said. “She’s a confident setter. She runs a fast offense. We want her to go even faster.”
The team has shuffled positions. Junior Zoey Van Vleet (5-8) and sophomore Abby Rewers (5-8) move from the middle to the outside. The middle will be manned by sophomore Madeline Klopcic (6-1), who is more polished after showing raw skills as a freshman, and junior Madeline Beaupre (5-7), a transfer from Oregon Episcopal.
“That’s going to be one of the bigger differences from last year. We’ll probably have a better block,” Kemper said. “Our middles need to produce a little bit more this year.”
Kemper said that the Valiants had an “epic” season in 2017. They did not drop a set outside of their four losses – two each against Sisters and Class 6A champion Southridge – and often showed remarkable resiliency to come from behind late.
But the coach knows that this season is likely to be much different considering the team’s schedule. Valley Catholic plays in three tournaments hosted by Class 6A teams (Lakeridge, Southridge, West Linn) and another one at Sisters, which is No. 2 in the Class 4A coaches poll.
“We’re going to be competing against 6A and 5A schools to really push us, so when we make it to the state tournament, we’ve been challenged a little bit,” Kemper said.
jerryu@osaa.org
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