3A volleyball preview: Huskies, Hawks excited to hit the court in 2017

WASILLA — The Redington Huskies have hit the court for their second season of varsity volleyball, and the Huskies are boasting their first senior class.

“We’re excited to have three seniors on this team providing leadership and experience,” Redington head coach Andrea Thompson said by email earlier this week.

Thompson said the Huskies have seen a boost in participation, and had players active in the sport during the offseason.

“Our team is growing rapidly,” Thompson said. “Many of our players went to clinics and camps this summer to become better players and are looking forward to the busy season ahead.”

Thompson and the Huskies are hoping to see that increased individual skill set translate to more success overall on the floor.

“We have very specific team goals this year for each team we play in our region,” Thompson said. “We are mostly focused on improvement against teams in our conference, but are looking forward to some great competition this season.”

Thompson said seniors Taylor Ryan and Shale Lytle are among her leaders on the court. Ryan, a libero, has been with the program since the school opened its doors three years ago.

“She brings positivity and light to the court,” Thompson said.

Lytle is making the move from outside hitter to setter.

“She’s a solid player with great leadership skills,” Thompson said.

Redington’s rival in the 3A Southcentral Conference has a smaller squad this season, but head coach Kelsey Marre said that’s not necessarily a completely bad thing.

“Although that could be looked at as a disadvantage for some, this team is small but fierce,” Marre said by email. “This group of girls works hard. Each one of them has put in a tremendous about of work in the offseason between camps, open gyms and personal play.”

Marre said the coaches, and the athletes, have already noticed the improvement.

“(We) can see such a difference from the previous years already,” Marre said.

Marre said junior setter Lexi Rau, junior middle hitter Audrey Giddings and senior setter Elisia Malidore are among her team’s leaders this year. Rau, a captain, stayed busy working on her game throughout the offseason, Marre said.

“She is consistent, works hard, is super coachable, and her teammates rely on her and trust her to get the job done,” Marre said. “She is probably my most consistent player on defense as well.”

Giddings also put in a lot of time during the offseason, Marre said, and will be one of Houston’s biggest hitters this season. Malidore is a first-year varsity regular.

“She has become one of our most reliable and valuable players,” Marre said. “She has an incredible serve and has really stepped it up in attitude and play so far this season.”

Marre also noted sophomore Jaydin Windzenberg and junior outside hitter Jenny Peterson.

“I think the biggest thing we have going for us this season is the team’s passion about volleyball,” Marre said. “This group of girls have played together almost exclusively throughout their high school careers and you can tell. They work together as a team, are cohesive and all have the same goal in mind this season.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.