A year ago it seemed to head coach Jessica Peters that her Red Devils only had one option — one person on offense and defense as go-to players. Not so in 2012.
“We’ve seen so much improvement defensively on the court this year and I feel comfortable rotating people in more than I did last year. We were inconsistent on the back row,” Peters said.
“We had one or two players we counted on offensively a year ago. This year we’ve got four sophomores returning who can hit the ball and we have some freshmen who are showing potential.”
Allen Community College’s volleyball team opens the 2012 season this weekend. The Red Devils play in the Neosho County Invitational at Chanute Friday and Saturday.
The Red Devil head coach’s confidence is buoyed by her team’s showing in last weekend’s scrimmages at Butler Community College. The Red Devils went 3-1, losing to Hutchinson to start the day.
Allen would go on to beat Fort Scott, Coffeyville and Independence.
“We had the typical freshman jitters against Hutchinson but played two close sets. We were able to mix up offensive and defensive options during the scrimmage matches,” Peters said.
“It really allowed us to see how we can use people and gave our players a lot of confidence as we go into this season.”
Consistency is always a factor in sports. One constant factor for the Red Devils is the return of setter Jacqui Ortiz. Ortiz had 714 set assists a year ago as a freshman. She also is one of the team’s top defensive players, coming off of a 368-dig season.
“We were always better when Jacqui was on the court for us. She is such a strength for our team. She runs the offense well and is a dig machine,” Peters said.
Leading the Red Devils up front and at the net are sophomores Hayley Mertens, Randi Billings, Autumn Douglas and Kaitlyn Speer. All have shown improvement in their hitting and blocking skills along the net.
“Hayley is one to watch. She has come so far but can go even further with her skills on the court. I’m certain she’ll set a record for kills per set this season,” Peters said. “Right now, she is working to let the game come to her and just play to her potential.”
Mertens showed some of that potential as a freshman. She put down 272 kills as an outside hitter and made 43 blocks at the net. She also came up with 271 digs defensively.
Billings and Speer are Allen’s middle hitters and blockers. Billings was an even worker at the net a year ago with 91 kills and 91 blocks. She had 96 digs. Speer rotated in and made 23 kills, 38 blocks and had 60 digs.
“Randi is one of our go-to players on offense this year. She and Kaitlyn have put in a lot of hard work to develop as the middles we need,” Peters said. “Kaitlyn is a vocal leader out there for us.
