Prep volleyball preview: Hawks excited about potential

HOUSTON — Greg Gaither is excited.

Rightfully so. The second-year head coach of the Houston Hawks has reason to be.

The Houston volleyball team has traditionally struggled, seemingly destined to be stuck at the bottom looking up. But rather than being relegated to the bottom spot in the conference, things are looking up for the Hawks.

Houston, a former small-schools program beginning its second year in the 4A Mid-Alaska Conference, returns seven seniors, a group that includes the most experience any Houston squad has seen in a number of years.

“We’re really excited to come back with a large number of seniors,” Gaither said last week.

Not only do the Hawks return a solid crew of veterans, but the Houston players are showing their ability on the court.

“I feel really good about the way we’re playing,” he said.

Leading the group is Houston’s returning captain, senior Ariel Katzenberger. The senior captain is one of a trio of senior middle hitters returning. Katzenberger is joined by Mariah Fishback and Alyssa Acton, who will also see time on the outside.

The senior class gives Houston solid depth at the setter position. Kelsey Thamm is the returning starter, and the Hawks also have Kacey Newman and Bev Ouellette, who Gaither calls Houston’s utility player.

Rounding out the senior class is outside hitter Danielle Holcumb.

Also on the varsity squad is junior labero Amy Orth and sophomore outside hitter Amber Acton.

Gaither said a good way to see the progression of his squad was to compare the Hawks’ play at the Palmer Jamboree preseason round-robin tournament versus the Hawks’ performance in the preseason event a year ago.

One big improvement, Gaither said, was his team’s ability to stay in matches even if the Hawks fell behind.

“They played a lot better at the Palmer Jamboree,” he said. “The kids came out feeling really positive.”

Houston will start Mid-Alaska Conference play Sept. 11 against the West Valley Wolfpack in Fairbanks and compete in the West Valley Invitational on Sept. 12-13. The tourney will feature all four of the Mid-Alaska programs — Houston, West Valley, North Pole and Lathrop.

“That’ll be a good, honest preview of what our season’s going to look like,” Gaither said.

The Hawks also have the luxury this season of hosting the Mid-Alaska Conference tournament. Gaither said the Hawks are excited about hosting the region event, and judging by some of the raucous crowds the Hawks have drawn in the cozy confines of the HHS gym, Houston could certainly sport true home-court advantage.

“The gym is a huge advantage for us,” Gaither said, noting the exciting for Houston volleyball increased dramatically last season. “With the noise level in the gym, you get all fired up. The gym can be that seventh man.”

The Hawks, who fell 3-1 to Grace Christian last week in their season opener, host Wasilla on Sept. 9 at Houston High School.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.