Curry volleyball teams have big expectations

Curry County volleyball is in a good place right now, with a five-time defending champion in Texico, a 2017 state champion and ’18 state finalist in Melrose, and a Grady team that posted a winning record last year and returns a solid contingent.

Texico

This year’s Lady Wolverines will be vying for their sixth-consecutive state championship, their 12th in the last 14 seasons, but will be doing so with a different team than the one that captured a fifth-straight state title last November.

Among the players returning, senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Ashley Hill, senior hitter/blocker Riley Thompson and junior setter Rachel Phipps were the only ones getting a lot of floor time last season.

And, Thompson’s availability this year is in question because of a torn ACL. “We don’t know when she’s going to get back; if we’re going to get her back,” Texico’s 11th-year head coach Kristen Scanlan said.

But the Lady Wolverines will forge on and expect to contend anyway.

“We’ve just got to continue to work and get better and continue to improve on the little things to try to get where we’re going to get,” Scanlan said. “But at the beginning of the season, we don’t plan to win a state title, that’s not the plan. The plan is to get better.”

They will try to do so — while hoping for Thompson’s return — with the services of Hill and Phipps, plus senior defensive specialist Macki Bilbrey and junior setter/hitter Riley Rohrbach. Scanlan says Rohrbach and Phipps will be expected to run the offense.

Defensive specialist Grace McDaniel didn’t play much last year because there were two experienced defenders in front of her. That should change this season as McDaniel, now a junior, moves into a much more significant role.

Senior middle hitter Gemma Martin played mostly junior varsity last season, but did attend last year’s state tournament with the varsity team, and should see more varsity time this fall.

Junior Sydnee Muse is an outside hitter/defender and yet another up-and-coming varsity player expected to fill a more integral role. “She’s done a really good job so far,” Scanlan said.

Perhaps the most intriguing young player is sophomore middle hitter Skyler Schaap, who has big sneakers to fill and is filling them capably.

She’s replacing Riley right now and has done a good job,” Scanlan said. “It’s huge for a sophomore. She’s done a really good job this summer. She’s grown a lot as a player. She’s got a long way to go, but she’s done a good job carrying her load as a sophomore.”

With 11 healthy players, this could be a challenging season for the Lady Wolverines, especially since Dulce — the team they swept for last year’s state championship — returns strong and experienced. But Texico will go step by step, a climb that hopefully ends with another state crown.

“I think we have a good chance to continue to grow and improve throughout the year,” Scanlan said, “and from that point, we’ll kind of let the chips fall where they may. We’ve seen improvement in practice, and they’re doing a really good job for me as a team.”

Texico has the advantage of not opening until Sept. 3 against Grady.

“We’ll be ready by then to play a match,” Scanlan said.

Melrose

Barring injuries, there’s no reason Melrose shouldn’t be back in the state championship mix this year.

The Lady Buffaloes — who were state Class A champions in 2017, but fell to Logan in last year’s title game — return most of the players from that ’18 state finalist team. The only two pieces gone from last year’s main rotation are setter Kiki Roybal and back-row defensive specialist Carleigh Fraze, so it seems Melrose is built for championship contention yet again.

“Yeah, we’re hoping so,” sixth-year head coach Casey Jackson said. “We’ve been working really hard. They’ve been really 100 percent committed so far. They’re fired up and want to make another run at it. We’re just going to take it one step at a time and enjoy the ride, hopefully.”

Jackson will be in an enviable position when the new season begins Tuesday at Friona, where he’ll send five returning starters to the floor. Senior co-captains Brette DeVaney (outside hitter/middle blocker), Deajha Downey (outside hitter) and Nataley Mondragon (middle blocker) lead the way.

“This group of seniors has been starting since they were freshmen,” Jackson said. “We had a group before; they graduated and (DeVaney, Downey and Mondragon) had to step in and start right away. So they’re experienced for sure. We’ve got a lot of leadership, a lot of drive. They’re hungry, they’re hungry to play and compete.”

There’s also a strong and experienced junior contingent that includes middle blocker Hailey Martin, rightside hitter Anjalina Sanchez and Pyper Belcher, who previously played libero but will be a setter this year.

Sophomore setter Johanna Roybal is expected to be another key contributor, as is freshman libero Isabelle Sena. Sophomore defensive specialist April Arenivar and freshman setter Paityn Nicholson round out the roster.

It’s a solid team throughout. And its journey begins Tuesday.

“We’re going to dive right in,” Jackson said. “We had a scrimmage last week and and we had several teams come to that, and we looked pretty solid. They’ve just been bustin’ it, working really hard to get better.”

Grady

The Grady team that began regular-season play Saturday against Des Moines and will continue it this week at the Logan Tournament, entered the season with optimism coming off last year’s 13-11 record.

And, prior to this season — their second as a cooperative program with San Jon and House — the Lady Bronchos had a productive offseason.

“This summer we went and we played a lot. I can’t tell you what our won-loss record was by any means, but we definitely competed with those teams,” said Rebecca Burns, beginning her second season as the cooperative team’s head coach. “These girls, they’re hard-workers, and I think we’re going to be able to compete this year.”

Trying to do that will be a team comprised of mostly juniors: middle blocker Teryn Foote; setter Hannah Bobbitt; outside hitter Kassi Glover; middle hitter Kristin Grau; defensive specialist Isabelle Martinez; libero Caitlinn Harrell; and outside hitter Bailey Montoya.

“I think our core is strong,” Burns said. “We definitely have room to grow, but I think they showed a lot of improvement over the summer, especially from last year. They’re a fun group to coach. ... They want to compete in the big game.”