The Aberdeen Roncalli volleyball squad will look much the same on the court, but a bit different on the sidelines this season.
The Cavaliers, who return many of their key players from a year ago, will be led by new coach Leesa Ware, who was the head coach at Leola-Frederick last season. Ware is no stranger to Roncalli volleyball, however. She served four seasons as an assistant to Janet Wetz at Roncalli after her playing days at Warner and Presentation College were finished.
“I’ve been here,” Ware said. “This gym is kind of like home to me.”
Ware said having a background at Roncalli helps to make her transition go much more smoothly.
“It absolutely does, just because I know what their morals are, I know what their philosophies are, I know the background about the school, I know the background of a lot of the girls,” Ware said. “And some of the girls, they could be sisters or cousins or things like that (to the former players). It makes things just a little bit easier.”
Ware inherits a talented and experienced group of players led by seniors Ava Hanson, Maddie Huber, and McKenna O’Keefe. All were key starters for the Cavaliers last season.
“We’ve got three seniors on the court. I’m really looking to them for a lot of leadership. … I’ve been seeing so many good things. Just a ton of dedication, a ton of leadership,” Ware said. “They really push each other and they push those younger classmen, which I really appreciate a lot.”
Speaking of which, Roncalli has plenty of help for the aforementioned trio of leaders. The Cavaliers will be counting on the likes of juniors Rylee Voeller, Morgan Helms, and Ava Danielson, in addition to sophomores Kara Olivier and Cambry Feickert.
“When I say that we have a deep bench, there’s a lot of good players,” Ware said.
Ware said it all starts with Hanson, who has been a standout member of the squad for multiple seasons and sets the tone for the rest of her teammates.
“Ava Hanson is such a great leader on the court and off the court,” Ware said. “She really pushes those girls. Those girls really look up to her, too.”
Look for the Cavaliers to be aggressive, whether from behind the service line, at the net, or in the backrow.
“We’re going to see a lot of aggressiveness,” Ware said. “We’re going to be aggressive obviously in our hitting, aggressive in our serving, we’re really going to focus a lot on defense. We have to become a better defensive team.”
Last year the Cavaliers advanced to the round of SoDak 16 only to run into perennial Class A power Dakota Valley. The year before that, Roncalli dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Groton in the region tournament. In short, the players are hungry and motivated to get to the state tournament this season.
“I think it’s one of those things, they want to go out and have fun, but they know in the back of their mind what’s expected and they know what our goals are for the end of the season,” Ware said. “Our end of the season is to get through that SoDak 16 and eventually make it to state. I think it’s always going to kind of be in the back of their minds. I want them to go out and have fun, but I also want them to know what’s expected and their expectations, and just to keep that mental mind of being determined.”
That said, expect the Cavaliers to be focused and ready to go each time they step on the court this fall.
“This year we’re going to be watching a lot of game film, we’re going to be talking a lot of strategy,” Ware said. “I think that the girls, they’re pumped up.”
Roncalli will get a stiff test right out of the chute this season, taking on perennial Class B power Northwestern on Tuesday at Roncalli Gym. The Wildcats did not lose a single player from last year’s squad.
“I am very anxious, I’m excited. Just being back on Roncalli’s court has me extremely excited,” Ware said. “I’m very excited just to see what these girls can do, and I think that after the Northwestern game, that will give me a really, really rough idea of how that’s going to look.”
The Cavaliers also play at Miller their third match of the season. The Rustlers finished fourth at last year’s State A Tournament.
However, first up is a look at the Wildcats of Northwestern and somebody different across the net from what the Cavaliers have seen in practice.
“Just getting that first game out of the way, because all we’ve been doing right now is practicing, but getting that first game out of the way, I’m really going to be able to tell what do we need to work on, where are our strengths, where are our weaknesses,” Ware said. “It’s all going to come together.”
