Troy volleyball hopes to shake loose rebuilding tag
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
TROY — Before last year, the Troy volleyball team had won six district titles in a row. That streak ended promptly and roughly last year.
The Colts took their lumps last year, having only one senior on the team and returning only a couple of starters, with essentially the 2009 junior varsity team on the floor. Troy went 0-8 in OAA Red Division play and lost in four sets in the first game of the Class A district to Auburn Hills Avondale.
With that rebuilding year over, there is more confidence around practice that the district championship could go through Troy again.
THE TEAM
Troy returns all 11 of 12 players from last year’s team. The only senior last year was 5-foot-11 Monique Nguyen, who will be missed. Nguyen played middle, outside, and right-side hitter and was the team’s leading attacker.
To perhaps make up for the loss of Nguyen, the Colts have sophomore Olivia Parks, who arrived Sunday from California. Parks played high-level club volleyball and will bolster the attack significantly.
Troy second-year coach Ed Ruhl has repeatedly praised the talents of Parks, who can play “Any position she wants.”
Parks, Nicole Hahn, Laney Hart, Jen Thompson, and Lindsay Moeller are the players whom Ruhl would call the core of the team.
“We’re hoping to come out and really beat up on some teams this year,” Hahn said.
“I think Nicole alone is about 30 percent better than last year,” Ruhl said.
When a team loses all its league games, it has to make some adjustments. Ruhl has a lot planned for that.
The coach said that by his calculations, Troy lost an average of six points per game last year on just serving alone.
“I’m going to redo how I teach serving,” Ruhl said. Adding six points to every game would give Troy at least a few league wins.
“Last year, the speed of the game was a big part of it,” Ruhl added. “We’re going to train at a faster pace than we’re going to play.”
With the year of experience at the varsity level, perhaps the Colts won’t seem quite as shell-shocked when that first tough game comes around. Also, “We’re going to make everything a competition,” Ruhl said.
Troy will have a storyboard with initials for the rankings of each drill so players can know who’s doing well and what they need to work on. The coach also plans on switching up the offensive formation.
Last year, the Colts suffered severe offensive difficulties in part because of the presence of two different setters — Moeller and Michelle Stuecheli — in a 6-2 formation. This year, Troy will switch to a 5-1 formation and start with Moeller at setter and Stuecheli at right side hitter.
“That will be easier,” Hahn said of the one-setter formation. “We don’t have to get used to different sets.”
“We can’t lose Michelle’s serve,” Ruhl said. Stuecheli’s serve percentage can soar into the mid-.900s
Main hitters include Hahn, Parks, Thompson, Taylor Marquardt, and Hope Keating.
THE SCHEDULE
Under the new rule, since the Colts were one of the bottom two teams in the OAA Red Division last season and will move down to the OAA White this year. That means a whole new slate of teams to face, the first time in several years that Troy is not in the upper division of the OAA.
The schedule features Auburn Hills Avondale, Southfield, West Bloomfield, Birmingham Groves, Athens, Farmington Hills Harrison, Bloomfield Hills Andover and Ferndale.
Tournaments include those hosted by Macomb Dakota, Michigan Elite (twice), Birmingham Marian, Mattawan, and Temperance-Bedford, all fairly demanding tournaments to get the Colts ready for the state tournament.
Additionally, the Colts added a “Boot Camp” recently at the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes near Traverse City with conditioning and team activities.
THE POSTSEASON
The district tournament features the same teams as the past few years, but Troy is back to hosting it. The very winnable district includes Auburn Hills Avondale, Troy Athens, Pontiac, Waterford Mott and Waterford Kettering. Avondale won last year, but Troy won the previous six seasons.
Despite graduation losses, the Yellow Jackets are still probably the best team if Troy isn’t. Should the Colts win the district, the regional tournament is at Lake Orion, where two-time defending state champion Marian could be lurking.
THE SKINNY
Nearly everything went wrong for the Colts last season. But Troy is undoubtedly the best program in the district. Whether the Colts have recovered from the five-player loss of two years ago remains to be seen.
The key is the speed of the game. If the Colts can adapt to that rather than appear stunned at the harder-hit attacks, they should be able to return to form.
“I think because we have so many returning players, it will be easier to get into the swing of things,” Hahn said. “This year, we have a more experienced offense.”
The consistent offense and consistent setting should bring more kills to the Troy offense. The improvement of Hahn and the addition of Parks will undoubtedly bring power to the attack. If the defensive specialists, led by senior Laney Hart, are more adjusted to the speed of the varsity game this year, then Troy should be back.
If Troy is back, it’s the Colts’ district to lose.
Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Troy
