from HCC Sports Information
After three weeks of watching 10 players battle playing time, Hutchinson Community College coach Sarah Myers will unveil the 2011 Lady Dragon volleyball team this weekend in New Mexico .
Hutchinson opens the season on Friday morning, matching up against South Mountain Community College in the fourth annual New Mexico Military Institute Classic at Roswell , N.M.
The Lady Dragons will play South Mountain and New Mexico Military on Friday. HCC will match up against Air Force Prep and No. 10 Eastern Arizona on Saturday. No. 20 Yavapai, Frank Phillips College , Ranger and No. 19 Seminole State round out the tournament field.
Hutchinson nearly started the season as a ranked team. When the preseason NJCAA Division I preseason poll was released earlier this month, the Lady Dragons were receiving votes.
That surprised Myers, whose team comes off a 6-29 campaign in 2010 and returns only two players from that team.
But Myers refused to even speak of 2010, even to use that as a guideline for 2011. Instead, she wishes to put down a new foundation with this team.
Sophomores Jordan Rehm, an outside hitter, and Cassie Wiley, a middle blocker, are the only players back for the Lady Dragons this season.
Rehm, a 5-foot-10 sophomore who was selected a 2010 second-team All-Jayhawk West performer as a freshman, led the Lady Dragons with 2.17 kills per game (120 kills) and an attack percentage of .160. She also averaged 0.23 service aces, 2.13 digs and 0.60 blocks per set. Rehm tallied five double-doubles, which included a 15-kill, 17-dig with six blocks and a .297 hitting percentage in a five-set victory over eventual Region VI champion Barton.
She tied her season-high 15 kills vs. Seminole State and matched her season-high 17 digs against Dodge City .
Wiley, a 6-1 middle, was HCC’s leading blocker with a team-high 106 total blocks, including 40 solo stuffs. She averaged 0.89 blocks per set.
Wiley also averaged 1.53 kills per set and had a .108 hitting percentage. She also averaged 0.10 service aces and 0.49 digs per set during her freshman season.
Wiley had one double-double last season, posting 11 kills and 10 digs vs. Jefferson College . She had a season-high 12 kills twice vs. Garden City and Dodge City . Her career high in blocks was 10 vs. Pratt.
Myers added eight freshmen to the mix for 2011.
Myers will start a freshman at setter in Liberal’s Ashlyn Westerman (5-10) and Douglass’ Hayley Young (5-10).
HCC will be much deeper at the net with Rehm and freshman Jade Nelson (6-0), Emily Oberlin (5-11) and Kayla Karmazyn (5-11). In the middle will be Wiley and freshman Shayne Haley (6-0). On the back row will be freshman Paige Forrester (5-9) and Alyssa Riffel (5-7).
After opening up on the road this weekend, the Lady Dragons will play their season and Jayhawk West opener on Wednesday night when the Pratt Beavers come to the Sports Arena for a 6:30 p.m. match.
NMMI Classic Opponent Information
South Mountain – The Cougars return four players from an 8-19 team last season. Alexis Pomeroy is a 6-1 middle hitter and Dominique Hale is a 6-footer who swings from the middle and outside. South Mountain also returns one setter, Amrie Stapley.
New Mexico Military – Coach Shelby Fortchner’s Broncos went 19-18 last season. But NMMI has a strong sophomore base with seven players who are in their second season with the program. Iva Cotric and Andrea Soric are two strong outside hitters. Fortcher also brings back a pair of sophomore setters in Luz Soto and Danielle Montoya.
Air Force Prep – Like the AFP football team, the volleyball roster turns over 100 percent each season at the United States Air Force Academy’s Prep School.
Eastern Arizona – The Gila Monsters start the season ranked No. 10 after qualifying for the 2010 NJCAA National Tournament. Three major contributors from that team are back in 5-10 middle Jessica Johnson, 5-10 outside hitter Bea Villalba and 5-5 setter Kelly Leopaldo.