2020-2021 SEASON RECAP

The girls volleyball team had a solid regular season in 2020, winning the league title and the 5A division. 

Everything for first year coach Steve Huntingdale was going smoothly, as he was able to instate his ideas and philosophies to the team during a season ravaged by a pandemic.

They qualified for State and were eyeing to bring Creek one of six State titles won by the school in 2020. But their solid season ended in the first round of state after losing a best-of-three to Columbine.

The team may have not won State, but Coach Huntingdale sees this as a successful first year. “Winning league was great for us,” Huntingdale said. “Making State was also a success for us… making a statement in my first year was great since we got to host regionals, and even have some fans cheering for us when some restrictions eased up as the season went on.”

The girls and Coach Huntingdale look to build off of their success in year two.

IMPROVEMENTS FROM 2020-2021

This previous season saw many successes from what was a strange and difficult season due to COVID.

Coach Huntingdale and the team have identified some areas of improvement so that this season will be smoother and hopefully end in a trophy with “State Champions” plastered on the front.

The issue last season was time. “We didn’t have a lot of time and practice in the spring. The more time we get, the better I can understand the players and we can all learn to understand each other better and discover our individual physical talents,” Huntingdale said. “The more we’re in sync and linked, the better we will become as a team.”

Another issue was how Creek wasn’t able to play teams outside of the division due to COVID. “State was a huge step after playing against League,” junior setter Anna Van Wyk said. “The competition for State picked up quicker than we thought and we weren’t entirely prepared for what was thrown our way.”

Now that COVID is starting to ease up, the team will be able to play against more than just League opponents, as schools they played or saw in State, like Columbine, will be more important to focus on this time around.

OFFSEASON RECAP

A standard high school volleyball season will give about 9 months of offseason until the new season begins. But due to the delay from COVID, the normal fall sport was pushed to the spring and the offseason dwindled from nine months to three.

While this may have seemed like a setback, Coach Huntingdale views this as a positive for the team because “Everything we started in the Spring, we were able to carry over into this season. It’s basically like we are picking up where we left off.”

The players were also able to make-do with the abnormally short offseason. Playing club volleyball between seasons was almost like picking up where they left off. 

“I was able to play club during the off-season,” Senior Kaegan Wherry said. “Being able to just consistently play throughout the offseason was great since I didn’t lose any rhythm.

Keeping that momentum from last season is a plus that this team has found in a season limited by a pandemic. Applying that energy is a big factor to finding success after an abruptly short offseason.

ROSTER

#1 Natalia Landry, Senior  DS, L

#2 Riley Warner, Senior L, DS

#3 Sam Webber, Senior, S 

#4 Katie Ettel, Senior, L

#5 Gracie Fleming, Junior, MB

#6 Rylan Pollard, Senior, RS

#7 Anna Van Wyk, Junior, S

#8 London Muhle, Sophomore, OH

#9 Kaegan Wherry, Senior, OH

#10 Campbell Kreider, Junior, OH

#11 Sloane Wehrman, Junior, OH

#12 Jaida Johnson, Junior, MB, RS

#14 Kendall Castledine, Senior, MH

#15 Carter Booth, Senior, MH

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Coach Huntingdale and the team are confident that players like Senior Carter Booth, Junior Anna Van Wyk, and Senior Kaegan Wherry will take charge and help lead the team to their goal of State.

All have different strengths and have set numerous goals for themselves and more importantly the team.

Van Wyk has been promoting consistency around the team and as a player herself. “Growing as a setter to better help my team is important to me,” Van Wyk said. “I’m just doing my best to get points and win matches for my team so consistency will be important.

Wherry, meanwhile, has been pushing energy around the team. “I’m always the one who screams after every point, whether it be for us or for the other team,” said Wherry. “I want to be sure to be able to support everyone on the team through my energy.”

Carter Booth, the University of Minnesota commit, is urging communication to be a key towards individual and team success.

“I just want to focus on communicating with the team,” Booth said. “Anytime we’re frantic or we don’t know what to do, I feel like Anna, Kaegan, and I are able to take charge and keep the team together.”

These three, along with the rest of the squad, will be major factors in how successful this team will be for this season.

GOALS

While bringing home State is the consensus of what the team is working toward, another key to success for the team will be perseverance.

The COVID induced season made things difficult for the team, and losing in State was a tough defeat to endure, but keeping their head up will be just as important as striving to win.

Being able to persevere challenges is something Coach Huntingdale is all about. “Setting the bar high for state will hopefully inspire the team,” Huntingdale said. “A monumental goal like that is just something that we want so badly, and we’re willing to work as hard as we can to get there.”

The returning players are trying to induce some more fight in the team this season. “We’re just going to try to keep the team together,” Booth said. “We just want want to be able to persevere through the tough times, whether it be COVID or a tough loss, as a team”

As the team sets their goals, prepares for games, and works as a team, they are getting one step closer to their ultimate goal of winning the girls volleyball State Championship.