PREVIEW: Gibsonburg volleyball

After a 14-win improvement last year, the Gibsonburg volleyball team looks to take another step forward and compete for a league title in the program’s third year under the guidance of Alan Ahle.

The Golden Bears reached the district championship last year, capturing a thrilling semifinal victory in reverse sweep fashion, which helped them go from a 2-21 campaign two years ago to a 16-9 finish, which included a 10-6 record in SBC play.

“The chemistry this year is probably the best I've seen in my three years,” Ahle said. “They're a good group. They like to do things together. They play multiple sports during the offseason and still keep that chemistry together. They’re a good group of kids, and they're very intelligent.”

With defending Division VII state champion Tiffin Calvert departing the SBC for the Northern 10 Conference, Gibsonburg will look to seize that opportunity, although any postseason run would likely still have to go through them as the Golden Bears are also now Division VII.

“We ought to be right there in the battle for the title,” Ahle said. “St. Joe will be right there. Danbury's got a lot of kids out, but we've played them this year and watched them play. We went to the district finals last year, and I would hope this year we do at least that well. But somewhere in there, we're going to run into Calvert.”

Ahle contributed last year’s improvement to a large reduction in unforced errors, among other things.

“Reducing those were huge,” he said. “And we were a little bit more aggressive than the girls have been used to. We served aggressively. We tried to hit aggressively, and our defense was very strong last year.”

This year’s team will return five starters, but they’ll have to replace First Team All-SBC River selection Leah Hall, along with Emily Henderson and Josey Mendoza. Hall was the team’s top offensive threat with a team-high 263 terminations.

One of those returning is Second Team All-SBC River middle blocker Riley Gressman, who produced 199 kills, a .282 hitting percentage, 37 blocks and 36 aces. Honorable mention selection Katie Hall is also back after producing a team-best 343 assists.

“Riley is pretty laid back and low-key,” Ahle said. “She doesn't get very excited. That's going to be something the kids can learn. Instead of getting upset with themselves when they make an unforced error, we'll be a little laid back like Riley and then just examine what you did wrong. She's not an outgoing leader, but she's a leader by showmanship.”

While Gressman is the lone senior on the team, Katie Hall headlines a junior class that includes key returners such as Ava Amor, Mackenzie Muntz, Ava Dawson and Mia Brink, who could potentially be the team’s starting libero.

Hall and Brooklyn Smith, a sophomore, were 1-2 in assists last year, but Hall will take over in a 5-1 offense as Smith will focus more on the defensive end. Ahle said she will still set a lot, but not as much as last year.

“Our back row defense is going to be very good,” Ahle said. “Our hitting is very aggressive as of right now, and our serving has been very aggressive. If we keep those three things going, we should have a very good year.”

Several newcomers and younger players are also expected to make an impact.

Sophomore Lacey Castillo is a defensive specialist who played a lot the second half of last year, and outside hitter Zoe Halbeisen is also a second-year player.

Sophia Foos, an outside hitter, and Kenzley Walby, a setter/defensive specialist, could also see time in their rookie campaigns.

“We've got three girls really battling on defense for those positions,” Ahle said. “We're only going to use one libero, even though you can use two this year, and then the other two will be a defensive specialist for somebody. Other than that, everything's pretty well set right now. The returning kids are going to maintain their positions and play hard. Things are looking real good right now as long as we keep the unforced errors down.”

Ahle is in his second tenure at Gibsonburg. He led the varsity team for four seasons in the early 2000s, and he served as the JV coach for five years prior to that under Ray Young. He also led Lakota volleyball at one point.