This year’s varsity volleyball team is having to grow up quick this volleyball season and Head Coach Ariel Gass is making attempts to improve the varsity team’s skills. 

The team lost 10 seniors last year including Tyra Jenkins, Noelle Tcheuhchoua and Savanna Philips, and only one senior is returning, along with new varsity players.  

“Target right now is to just get our really young girls, our juniors and our sophomores, the experience that they need to feel and be successful on the varsity level,” Gass said.  

The returning senior, Ilana Briggs, had 22 blocks, 101 kills and six aces last year and feels she is handling these changes well.  

“I’ve adjusted; we’ve adjusted very well by this point. I feel like my leadership has increased because I kind of have to be that leader,” Briggs said.  

So far, the varsity team is 7-10 this year.  

“This year is going to be rough because we are young,” Gass said. Other varsity players include libero Presley Vasek who had six digs last season, setter Scout Grummons who had one ace and two digs. New-to-varsity setter Eliza Stockmann has 10 aces and 97 digs and outside hitter Ja’Niyah Holland-Cherry has 35 kills and two blocks, both as of September 19. 

Gass is putting in efforts on improving the team’s performance and she is also working on strengthening the team’s relationship with each other.  

“If we can put all of those together and continue to be a positive environment for each one of them, then we should sit pretty good in the future of Central volleyball,” Gass said.  

“We like to call it ‘growing pains’ for this year,” Briggs said.