Volleyball season is in full swing, with practices having started already. 59 girls in grades 7-12 make up the team this year, with only a total of seven upperclassmen after losing three seniors last year.

“We are going to have a young team,” Jessica Fritz, Coach, said. “We have some great numbers to choose from, and we have a lot of talent. We have been working on a lot of our basic fundamentals how to pass the ball correctly, how to set the ball correctly because that’s what will win the game for us.”

Maria Blessum, sophomore, returns to the team this year, after a successful last season as an outside hitter. Sara Stier, junior, is also returning to the team as one of their strongest middle hitters.

“We have some great hitters returning, but we’re going to be looking at filling some big shoes. We’re going to work on that all around aspect of everybody being a team player and learning how to do everything on the court. I want us allto be confident in whatever gets thrown our way,” Fritz said.

At a meeting this past week, Fritz told the players’ parents that she wants to help their daughters become accomplished athletes, both on and off the court. “I’m not just building your daughters as athletes. I’m trying to build them as people too to be good citizens and to be good, caring individuals,” she said.

After the past few successful seasons, the goal is to continue their winning streak by having a strong team. Fritz hopes to make it back to the district tournament and move onto regionals, where the team has had difficulty in the past. “We want to get in there and start playing the volleyball that we know we can,” she said.

The team has its first tournament of the season on Saturday, August 27. The Early Bird Tournament in Bottineau will give the girls the opportunity to try different offenses and positions and get ready for the season.