The Whippet Volleyball Team hosted a quadrangular preseason event with Catholic Central, Stoughton, and Sun Prairie East on Tuesday, August 22.

After graduating 5 of the 6 members of the starting lineup from last season, the Whippets are young and looking for underclassmen to fill some openings on the roster. Preseason events like this are used to work various rosters and see how teams begin to play together. “I don’t look for dominating wins at this point, rather, I am working many different line ups and trying athletes in different spots to see who might be ready to lead the team in these positions.”

And the Whippets did just that. Facing Catholic Central first, the Whippets had a 3 set battle (19-25, 25-18 and 5-15). “From the scores alone, you can see our younger nature. We have moments of greatness and owning the court to moments of lapses in mental toughness and leadership.” In this match the Whippets were led in kills by Calli Grosinske with 10, Marina Linos in assists with 7, and Ella Spear with 5 digs.

Next the Whippets faced Stoughton (24-26, 12-25) and again held tight in sets, and costly errors affected the outcome. “Things we control, like serving, blocking errors, and stretches of unanswered points hurt us tonight. On the night we had over 20 service errors alone. We shore those things up, and we are a different squad.” Stat leaders included Calli Grosinske with 5 kills, Marina Linos with 8 assists, and Calli Grosinske with 5 digs.

The final team the Whippets faced was Sun Prairie East (8-25, 25-27). Stat leaders were Calli Grosinske with 5 kills, Falyn Krahn and Ella Spear with 8 digs apiece, Calli Grosinske with 5 assists, and Meg Roselle and Emmanuella Mbifi with 1 block apiece.

Now we get back in the gym and commit to getting better each play. As you can see by the inconsistent scores, we are young, and as we get back in the gym and work on the areas we need to, the sky’s the limit!

Article and Photo Submitted by Mary Kilar
Whitewater High School Head Volleyball Coach
mkilar@wwusd.org