’Cats can succeed at the net
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The Marshalltown volleyball team has seven players with varsity experience back from last year's team, but the Bobcats are still in the developmental stages.
Third-year head coach Jennifer O'Neal has six upperclassmen and another starter back from last year's roster, which produced a 14-22 overall record but was only one win shy of an Iowa Alliance Conference North Division title.
The Bobcats' lone league loss last season was to Ames, but the Little Cyclones are no longer in the Alliance. Now competing against the entirety of the league without divisional separation, O'Neal wants to see her team step into the spotlight and compete for the outright conference crown.
"I would still categorize us as a young, developing team," she said, "but I will say we've really been working hard on not just volleyball skills but also mindset and team chemistry, and that's been going really well for us."
The Bobcats dive into their new schedule tonight with a trip to Des Moines Roosevelt for the first conference match against one of the select few teams O'Neal pinpointed alongside Ottumwa as contenders in the Alliance.
Marshalltown's home opener is on Tuesday, Sept. 1, against Des Moines Lincoln.
"I think a successful season is going to look like growth," O'Neal said. "Obviously winning is one way that people would measure success, but I think it's the growth in not just the player's skills but them as people. You're going to see that on the court the way they're supporting each other.
"I think right now the success that I am seeing is they just have this mentality of 'no, we don't quit, we don't give up.'"
Marshalltown's returning lineup includes a trio of seniors in outside hitter Bella Avise, middle hitter Kendall Brummel and setter Lauren O'Neal. O'Neal led the Alliance North in assists last fall while Avise was second (to since-graduated Kinsley Bowie) in kills.
The Bobcats' team hitting efficiency was at just .044, which is where having a returning setter can help boost the numbers.
"I would say, speaking as her coach, Lauren's volleyball IQ is one of the highest I've ever been around," said coach O'Neal, Lauren's mother. "I think we are fortunate to have her return in that she sees a lot of things that other players probably wouldn't see. She's just had a lot of experience between playing from a very young age to playing at a high-level club.
"I think she's kind of the glue that holds an offense together, so it's incredibly important to have our setter back and also I feel very blessed because that's one position that we don't have to really cultivate."
Coach O'Neal is hoping to turn her lineup into one that includes a bunch of six-rotation players.
"I feel like what we're trying to build is that mindset of 'what does the team need me to do?' and 'I'm ready to do it," she said. "And they are all in for that, it's just been really great."
O'Neal is the team's top returner in digs, followed by Avise, junior Morgan Hilderbrand and junior Alena Holloway.
Sophomore Brooklyn Smith, who was the team's top blocker as a freshman, will be asked to play the whole way around, too. Lorelai Holloway has a shot to make an increased impact as a six-rotation player, too, despite playing in only 26 sets last season.
"We're just trying to build skilled volleyball players that really can step up and do whatever we need them to do," coach O'Neal said. "I think we have a good core of 10 girls who could potentially get on the court quite often."