Fall Previews: West Linn volleyball

Coach: Kathy Walker

2023 results: Third in the Three Rivers League; first round of the state playoffs

2024 team: 5-foot-1 junior defensive specialist Carsyn Richardson; 5-6 freshman setter/defensive specialist Greta Doel; 5-11 senior setter Allie Hawk; 5-9 junior opposite Kennedy Toomer; 5-8 junior middle blocker Tayanah Balensifer (a transfer from Damascus Christian); 5-4 junior libero/defensive specialist Molly Smith; 5-9 senior outside hitter Alexa Cornell; 6-1 sophomore middle blocker/opposite Sophia Silva (a transfer from Clackamas); 5-9 junior outside hitter/middle blocker Amelia Haj; 5-10 senior middle blocker Claire Johnson; 5-7 sophomore opposite/outside hitter Abbie Bevilacqua; 5-4 freshman setter/defensive specialist Payton Richard; 5-6 freshman defensive specialist Audrina Peia; 5-9 freshman outside hitter Gigi Martin; 5-6 junior defensive specialist/outside hitter Heidi Goehring.

2024 outlook: “I think we’re going to be very competitive,” said West Linn’s first-year coach Kathy Walker. “One of the keys will be getting our talented freshmen and transfers integrated into our system as quickly as possible.”

Team leaders: Allie Hawk and Alexa Cornell both serve as team captains, while Amelia Haj and Kennedy Toomer will also take on significant leadership roles.

“(Hawk) has incredible hands and great floor leadership. She’s very athletic, and in addition to her setting, she’s also a standout blocker and hitter,” Walker said, adding that Cornell is “very athletic, and plays with strength and power as our main outside hitter. We also rely on her to attack out of the backcourt.”

Walker described Haj as another key returner who’s “quick and athletic in both roles, as an outside hitter and middle,” while Toomer brings “some powerful hitting on the right side. She brings so much energy to the court.”

2024 TRL Contenders: “The TRL is going to be very competitive again this year with several teams in the mix,” Walker said. “I think we’re one of those teams.”