Starting from scratch has provided some challenges, but the rewards are also evident for the Stillwater boys volleyball team during the early portion of its inaugural season.
After falling in its season opener, the Ponies swept Cretin-Derham Hall 3-0 in a nonconference match to produce the program’s first-ever victory on Monday, April 15 at Stillwater Area High School.
The victory was sandwiched around nonconference losses on the road at St. Anthony Village and Twin Cities Academy in St. Paul, but enthusiasm for this maiden campaign was apparent among team members and spectators during the opening match at SAHS.
“We’re having a great time and our guys are still learning the basics of the sport,” Ponies coach Pete Farrell said. “Their progress has been pretty exceptional. Early in the season we’re not concerned very much with the wins and losses, but how we’re progressing as a team and playing for each other and for our own trajectory and getting as far as we can by the end of the year.
“It was great that our guys had support from the girls volleyball team, the baseball team was there, and other students and our own families. It was really nice to be playing in front of a lively crowd and exciting for our guys.”
Stillwater was in control against the Raiders throughout much of the evening, prevailing by scores of 25-18, 25-15 and 25-18.
Like the Ponies, Cretin-Derham Hall is a first-year program starting from the ground up.
Stillwater features 23 players on the JV and varsity rosters and the learning curve has been steep.
“Most of them didn’t know how to set up the nets, and that’s fine,” Farrell said. “We went over that and then we really dived into the basics of volleyball and our focus has been on them getting as many touches and doing the repeatable skills they need to do to improve in the sport. We didn’t focus as much on the rules, more just the skills they need to develop and along the way here are the rules for this and that. With such a new group of players, we really had to focus on the details of making them successful on the court.”
It has been a process, but the coach said players are eager to learn and working hard.
“I think for me it was most gratifying to see the athletes who have been learning the sport get some positive feedback and see the excitement they’re having by making good plays and that leading them to victory,” Farrell said after the Cretin-Derham Hall victory. “Winning isn’t the only thing, but to have that feedback early on is very positive.
“After each match we’ve played, each of the coaches have commented on how well our team has progressed in such a short time. It’s really nice to hear, even on the other side of the court, that our guys have come real far, real fast.”
After the victory in the home opener, Stillwater lost to Twin Cities Academy 3-0 on Wednesday, April 17. The Tigers won by scores of 26-24, 25-22 and 30-28.
John Dieterle led the Ponies with 10 kills and Griffin Stone finished with 11 set assists for the Ponies in a back-and-forth battle throughout the night. Joe Hoheisel provided 10 blocks at the net.
“Our team is improving every single time out,” Farrell said. “They’re really coming together and understanding the different aspects of the game and they’re scrambling really well, so it’s just a matter of gaining some experience.”
Twin Cities Academy was gritty defensively and the Ponies were definitely more assertive on the attack.
“I think it was just a matter of keeping the ball in play and understanding when to push and when to just get the ball over to the other side,” Farrell said. “We had a better offense, but their team was exceptional in ball control. They did a very good job of digging the ball. In a close match there wasn’t that much difference, but there were some plays where we were unsure of exactly what to do.”
Stillwater’s block was also effective.
“They switched to a lot of tipping and pushing the ball,” Farrell said. “They gave up on a lot of attacks because of our blocking.”
With no feeder program and very little, if any, structured volleyball training for team members coming into the season the progress is apparent each day and in every match.
“Occasionally we’re still learning to not try to do too much at once and making the plays they can make vs. this is a situation to let the other team have the ball,” Farrell said. “The effort is always there and you appreciate that and try to give them guidance on how to be the most successful in a volleyball setting.”
And some skills are more quickly learned.
“I think the most difficult thing to learn in volleyball is how to effectively pass the ball, and that’s across the board,” Farrell said. “It’s a difficult skill to consistently pass to a person in a spot. The other thing that is always a challenge for a new group of players is offensively getting the timing between the setters and hitters — setting to a spot and the hitter knowing and being able to repeat that.”
The Twin Cities Academy and St. Anthony Village programs existed prior to this season and that was apparent in those matches. St. Anthony Village closed out the Ponies 25-10, 25-20 and 25-22 in the season opener on Friday, April 12.
Stillwater showed marked improvement even within that one match.
“St. Anthony was the first match ever and I could see it in the guys that they weren’t used to that pace of play and the structure, just getting used to having to sub in and out and other things that are very technical about playing an actual match,” Farrell said. “It just takes some getting used to, but that was the biggest difference between Match 1 and 2. Our team was just a lot more cohesive (against Cretin-Derham Hall). I just think we were a lot more composed.”
Stillwater has added two tournaments to its schedule this season, including Saturday, April 20 at Coon Rapids. The Ponies will also compete in a tournament at Eastview on April 27.
Most Popular
Comments / 0