Aberdeen Roncalli has just one senior on this year’s volleyball team, but the Cavaliers are far from inexperienced.

Roncalli has a variety of underclass players who have gained valuable varsity minutes in the past.

“I am extremely excited for this year. … We don’t have a lot of girls as far as numbers go, but we have a lot of depth,” said third-year Roncalli coach Leesa Ware. “When it comes to talent-wise, we have numerous returning starters. We have a lot of girls that will be coming off the bench to play with us.”

The lone senior is Cambry Feickert, who Ware said is a leader in multiple ways.

“She’s a captain, she’s one of our very good leaders on and off the court,” Ware said. “All around, she’s just a very good role model for the girls.”

The Cavaliers feature familiar names up and down this year’s roster, including record-setting junior setter Elyana Roach (who last season established school records for sets per match and sets in a season), middle hitters Gabby Thomas and Karsyn Davis, and outside hitter Grace Cogley.

“With Elyana breaking a couple of school records last year, Gabby Thomas, she’s just a powerhouse middle,” Ware said. “Karsyn, that girl shines when she needs to shine, and Grace Cogley, she’s a powerful girl. She’s been logging a lot of hours in the gym over the summer.”

They will be joined by junior Jillian Ellwein.

“I cannot say enough about her, just as an athlete, as a person,” Ware said. “She’s just a tremendous leader on and off the court. She comes on the court and excitement just happens.”

Major contributions are also expected from junior Olivia Dix on the front row.

“Olivia Dix, she’s been really, really turning the corner for us,” Ware said. “She’s been working extremely hard, so we’re really excited to see what she’s going to do this year, too.”

The backrow will be solidified by Danica Zacher and Kenzington Basham.

“Those are two very, very good defensive specialists for us,” Ware said.

The Cavaliers also have a pair of eighth-graders on the varsity this season in Brooklyn Bonn and Molly Jorgensen.

“They played a lot for us on JV last year,” Ware said. “They’re very good little players.”

The squad is rounded out by Felicity Cogley.

Roncalli has been on the cusp of reaching the state tournament in recent years, but has run up against elite programs in the SoDak 16. Ware is hoping that the Cavaliers can obtain a better seed in postseason points so that it won’t be as much of an issue this fall.

“We’re hoping that’s going to go in our favor this year,” Ware said. “The girls are working hard.”

Roncalli opens its season by hosting perennial Class B power Northwestern on Tuesday. Ware, who played for Warner in high school, knows all about the Wildcats and their tradition, led by Hall of Fame coach Nora Groft.

“Nora has always had an extremely good program. … I think the girls are ready,” Ware said. “The girls are looking forward to playing them.”

Ware is pleased with the amount of time her players have put in during the off season.

“We’ve had open gyms twice a week,” Ware said. “We’ve had camps and they show up on all the open gyms, they’ve been showing up at camps. They’ve been working hard.”

Now Ware is looking forward to seeing the rewards of those hours of preparation.

“I’m very excited for the season,” Ware said, “because again, we don’t have a lot of numbers, but we have a lot of talent.”