OnFocus Season Preview: Marshfield Tigers Volleyball
Head coach (years at school, last year’s record): Josh Knecht, First year head coach, Assistant under
Dawn Sadowska since 2009, last year’s record was 34-5 and a conference record of 11-1
Returning players (year in school, position; include stats and accolades from last year if available)
We return both Kailyn Kurth (senior, setter) and Lauren Homolka (senior, middle) who were both
named as 1st Team All-Conference. Kailyn ran our 5-1 offense last year compiling 891 assists and is
headed to play collegiately next year. Lauren had the second most kills on our team with 247 and led
our team in hitting percentage and total blocks with 89. Sophia Olson (junior, middle) was second on
our team in total blocks with 82 and has made an impressive jump from last year through a very
competitive club season.
We lost several seniors from last year’s squad but return several varsity athletes who now move into a
more prominent role with our team. Alyssa Foemmel (senior, outside), Sydney Quarne (senior,
setter/defense), Devyn Le Moine (senior, opposite), and Zaida Kolbeck (senior, libero) are all back from
last year’s team. Alyssa Foemmel who was third on last year’s team with 1.5 kills per set has steadily
improved her shot making and ability to kill the ball from the outside. Her vocal presence and
leadership this summer has been great. Sydney Quarne had last season be cut short from an injury but
looked great in the Prep Dig Tournament this summer setting and playing defense. Devyn is a state
qualifying pole vaulter and her athleticism on the opposite to block and terminate the ball will help us.
Finally, I have been really impressed with Zaida Kolbeck’s presence as the quarterback for our defense
in being the vocal presence it so needs. She is a four-year starter on the basketball team and finally
gets her shot being our libero.
Top newcomers (year in school, position)
We have three top newcomers Della Smith (junior, outside), Hope Kelnhofer (senior, opposite), and
Michelle Potts (senior, defense). In the two decades that I have been in this program, I have not seen
someone hit the ball as hard as Della Smith can. Her ability to terminate the ball either front or back
row should be very exciting. Hope, lost the ability to play in our program for multiple years due to
injury, but is an extremely versatile player that can play anywhere on the front row for us. Finally,
Michelle might be our best serve receive passer in our program and will help Zaida with the defense.
COMMENTS
What do you see as your team strengths?:
Our team has 8 seniors and 2 juniors who have all played club volleyball. They are experienced,
athletic, and versatile in the ability to play more than one position if injuries pop up this year. Above
all, I would say that our team chemistry is our greatest asset. All the girls respect what each other can
bring to the team, and are really supportive of each other. Most of them have been playing together
with all different sports since early elementary school and having a senior dominant team, like we have, should make us very competitive.
What are team goals, expectations, conference outlook?:
We have won the Wisconsin Valley Conference four years in a row, and we look to try to get that to 5
this year. D.C. Everest tied with us for the share of the conference title and bring back almost their
entire team. Many of the other schools in the conference, I feel, will be much improved so the Valley
Conference should be fun to watch this year.
Any other comments:
I would be remiss if I did not mention Dawn Sadowska. Dawn took over this program in 1991 winning
13 conference titles and making 7 state appearances. I learned so much under her and I hope that the program can continue its strong level of excellence into the future.
My assistant coach is Kendra Kaiser who has won a state championship being the head coach at Eau Claire Regis. She has also coached at Eau Claire North and Colby before coming into our program last year. I’m excited to work with her and the knowledge she brings to our program.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
