Aberdeen Roncalli has been on the doorstep of getting to the state volleyball tourney in recent years and while the roster has changed a bit, the goal remains the same this season.
The Cavaliers fell in the SoDak 16 a year ago, and lost an intense five-setter in the region semifinals the year before that.
“We’re focused on match-by-match and they know that every single match leading up to that is going to be very important, but obviously our end goal is the same, and our goal is to get to state and complete that SoDak 16,” said Roncalli coach Leesa Ware. “We’ve been right there. We’ve been at nail-biters, and they’re ready. They’re ready to get there and honestly, it’s going to be a good year.”
Roncalli lost some key members to graduation, but the cupboard is far from empty this fall.
“We have a really deep bench this year. We’re looking at some really strong hitters,” Ware said. “We have a really deep defensive bench. We just have a lot of really good girls that we can really look at.”
The squad will be led by four seniors that include Rylee Voeller, Morgan Helms, Reese Henrich, and Ava Danielson.
Voeller was a key contributor for the Cavaliers last season and will be again this year.
“Rylee Voeller is going to be a huge, huge asset to our team this year. I’m expecting really good things,” Ware said. “She’s going to be one of the girls that will be playing front row and back row for us, just because of her abilities and how good she is.”
Danielson will be the team’s main setter this season.
Ware said those four seniors will have plenty of help as well.
“We’re just expecting a lot of good things,” Ware said. “We’ve got a young group, but we have some good athletes coming up.”
Few players can match the athleticism of Gabby Thomas, who had breakout seasons in volleyball, basketball, and track and field last year.
“Gabby is very athletic. She gets where we need her to get to, and she is always hustling and always on her toes and just a powerhouse,” Ware said. “She’s just one of those very natural-born athletes.”
Danica Zacher will play a more prominent role this season as well.
“She’s going to be stepping on the floor a lot on varsity and playing that back row,” Ware said.
More leadership will be found in Cambry Feickert, who figures to anchor the back row.
“Cambry Feickert, she’s going to be our Libero this year. She’s one to watch,” Ware said. “She’s all over the place. She’s here and there and everywhere. She’s a very good communicator. She’s just a good leader on and off the court for us.”
Ware also expects a major contribution from Elyana Roach, “who will be seeing a tremendous amount of floor time on the varsity – a very stellar setter and motivator.”
The Cavaliers will also be bolstered by the addition of Jillian Ellwein who transferred from Leola-Frederick, where she played for Ware two years ago when Ware coached the Titans.
“She’s a fun one to watch,” Ware said. “She steps on the court and it’s like all the energy just completely changes because of her.”
Ware said the key for this year’s squad in its quest to reach the next level is to believe in each other and play for each other. She likes what she has seen so far in practice.
“You can just see so much potential and so much energy out on the floor,” Ware said. “These girls are communicating with each other, they’re trusting each other. They have each other’s backs.”
The Cavaliers open the season this evening on the road against perennial Class B power Northwestern. Ware said while that is a tough opener, the match allows the team a chance to see where its at, and features a much different environment than practice.
“Basically, you’re going practice-by-practice and running the same old things, but you get to game time and you can figure out OK, we need to work on this, we need to work on that,” Ware said. “This is what we’re improving on, this is what needs improving on. Game time’s always fun. It’s always fun going up against a competitive team like Northwestern.”
And no matter what happens tonight, the goal and the motivation will remain the same for the Cavaliers this season.
“Expectation level’s extremely high this year. Again, I think we have such a good, deep bench,” Ware said. “We have some young players, but a lot of these young players, they step out on the court and they’re leaders out there, and they’re communicating, and this team is coming together, and they’re trusting each other, and they’re going to be fun to watch.”
