Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Second-year head coach Nicole Morrison, who guided Clay to a Northern Lakes League Cardinal Division title last year, returns four of the team’s five all-conference players from a season in which the Eagles went 18-5.
“We are definitely looking to expand on the stuff we learned last year,” Morrison said. “It wasn’t a rough start, but I think a slow start learning all these different systems and different expectations and different standards. Having all those kids back, expanding on that stuff is going to be a little bit easier. We're just teaching them to battle every day for every position at practice. That's a big thing — to make practice super competitive.”
First Team All-NLL Cardinal selections Jadyn Kennedy and Hayden Rodriguez return, as do Madison Franke and Emelia Goetz, who were tabbed second team. Goetz is a junior, while the other three are seniors.
The Eagles graduated five seniors, highlighted by Natalie Karrick, who was named First Team All-NLL and First Team All-District. She finished second on the team in kills and aces and third in digs and total blocks.
“Natalie was an outstanding setter,” Morrison said. “We transitioned her into a six-rotation pin last year to fit the needs of the team. She was coachable, always willing to do whatever the team needed her to do. She played a big role (in our success).”
One of the key returners is Rodriguez, who is the granddaughter of Joe Guerrero. She led the team with 719 assists last year while directing the offense.
“Just the tradition she's been around and her genetics, she comes from great stock,” Morrison said. “We say all the time that she's the hardest worker in the gym on any given day. Hayden loves to compete. Her volleyball IQ is impressive. It's way up there. She is 100 percent ready to compete every day. She knows what's going on on the other side of the net. She’s just a super athlete. She runs the show. Hayden literally runs the show for us. I couldn't ask for a better person in that position.”
Kennedy, who led the team in digs with 273, returns for her fourth year on varsity.
“She quarterbacks the back row,” Morrison said. “She’s got really good instincts.”
Another returning all-conference player comes in the form of Goetz, a junior who led the team in kills with 249 a year ago while hitting .419.
Morrison has high hopes for her to expand on that.
“I am really looking at her to be a big, breakthrough player this year even though she’s a returner,” Morrison said.
Franke, meanwhile, was one of three players with at least 200 kills last year, and she led the squad with 46 aces.
Morrison feels fortunate to even have Franke because of the place softball holds in her future.
“Softball is her number one gig,” she said. “She's probably going to play Division I softball somewhere, so I don't really see much of her all summer because she has an extremely competitive softball schedule. She contributes as a six-rotation player. She puts up great numbers, and she's another one like Hayden, just a super athlete and a very athletic kid.”
In addition to the three returning all-conference players, Clay returns four other seniors — Leah Franke, Dylanie Pollauf, Addison Hugueley, and Halle Brenot.
“They have great chemistry,” Morrison said. “All those kids like each other, and that's a big part of them wanting to spend time in the gym. I think they enjoy being around each other. Although they're competing every day for a spot, they also have each other's backs.
“Several of them are competing for the same position, but they're also their teammates’ biggest cheerleaders. I like that that's the culture we have in our gym right now.”
In terms of positional battles, the main competition is in the middle and on the right side, Morrison said.
“There's a lot of players fighting for those spots,” she said. “We tell them all the time, ‘We get two hours at practice every day to get better at what we can control. There's some things we can control, some things we can't. We're going to control what we can control and get better every day for two hours.’”
Clay opens up at Northview on Aug. 19.
“We expect to compete every game,” Morrison said. “Our league is very strong with lots of athletes and great coaches. Our non-league schedule is really heavy this year. Our goal is to be competitive in every single game.”
