GILMAN VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW - Last fall’s regional title has the Pirates wanting more

GILMAN VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW

Certainly, 2023 felt like a breakthrough volleyball season for the Gilman Pirates when it was capped by the program’s first WIAA regional championship since 2000.

But, by definition, last year will only be a breakthrough if the success grows and continues. And that is obviously the top goal for this year’s team.

“We want more,” senior Abby Chaplinski simply but directly said last week.

Back for her 17th season overall as Gilman’s head coach, Janice Komanec leads a program that is 31 players over three levels deep and has one of the most experienced groups she’s ever had at the varsity level.

“I think that this not only is the biggest group we’ve ever had, but this is the most talent in the gym at one time in a really long time,” Komanec said during an Aug. 21 practice. “There is so much talent in this gym right now and, even in just our first two days, people are improving.”

Her three senior co-captains –– Chaplinski, Kayleigh James and Claire Drier –– agreed.

“There is lots of competition in the gym,” Drier said.

“There are people who can take every single spot,” James said. “It’s nice for people to have to work for their spot they may think that they already have.”

Gilman got a good season-opening test Tuesday at the six-team Medford Invitational, where the Pirates went 2-3. Gilman is back in action tonight, Thursday, for its annual triangular at Thorp with Owen-Withee joining the fun before hosting Athens in nonconference play Tuesday for the home opener at 7:15 p.m.

The Pirates actually finished a modest 1712 overall and were 4-3 in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference, good for third place behind Columbus Catholic and Colby. But the strong second half of the season, which included an 8-2 stretch, the two regional wins and a nearmiss in a 3-1 sectional semifinal loss at eventual state qualifier Prentice hopefully have pushed this year’s group past the point of just hoping for success. Their catchphrase is “don’t wish for it, work for it.”

“You can have talent and you can have hard work going on, but putting the whole picture together and realize the training that it takes, the thinking that has to happen in practice, the confidence that has to be built in practice and understanding why we’re doing what we’re doing in practice. I think this group can do it,” Komanec said. “Obviously winning regionals was fun, but I love the fact that they got a taste of what they actually can do. We’ve had for so many years groups of girls that hoped they would do something big. Last year the girls did something big and now they’ve tasted it and they want it. I want them to stay focused on that.”

The girls tried to keep the momentum rolling with some good off-season work, including a strong showing in a Thursday night summer league in Altoona.

“I think it fired us up more than we think,” James said. “We know what we could do last year and I know that we’re getting better this year too. I think we’re ready.”

There are 11 seniors in the program, six of whom played significant roles a year ago. Allison Olynick also returns after a solid sophomore season. Komanec said there are a handful of juniors and sophomores who are knocking at the door trying to find their way into the rotation.

“We’re deep on our bench,” she said. “We have stuff that is not figured out yet, not because we don’t have options. This is going to be a season where our first games we’re really going to be messing with stuff. There’s going to be more subbing happening than usual just because we have more depth.”

Chaplinski will return to her customary position as the setter. She was a first-team All-ECC pick last year and got All-State honorable mention from the Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association.

“Obviously Abby returning to run our offense is big,” Komanec said. “The team is just so confident in her.”

“I tell her whenever there’s kids that don’t swing at her sets that I would’ve swung so hard at that,” Drier said. “I would have. I swing at everything she sets, I don’t care if it’s low or high I go get it.”

Drier is back as Gilman’s primary hitter from the left side and is a solid back-row defender. The back row is where James excels, earning honorable mention in the conference for her work there last year.

“Hitting and front row is a strength,” Drier said. “There’s a lot of kids who can take those spots on for sure. Even if you need a back-up, there’s tons of them in the gym.”

Komanec agreed, saying the front row and hitting combinations could be the toughest things to figure out in the early part of the season. Olynick will be in that mix. Senior Jaylyn Orth is Gilman’s tallest threat at the net and is likely to man the middle, sophomores like Aubrey Mann, Kylee Copenhaver and Addy Vick are coming on strong and junior Aubrey Steinbach is working on her hitting as well while also taking some setting reps, just in case.

“Claire will be out of the left side,” Komanec said. “We want to see her set to and getting as many balls as we can. When she’s on, she’s dynamic.”

The Pirates also view defense as a strength, led by James, seniors Jaylen Copenhaver and Kenlyn Kroeplin. Senior Alison Krizan is fighting for back-row time too.

“I feel like our defense is quicker,” James said. “There are girls that are getting hands on things that, a couple of years ago, they weren’t getting hands on. I think all of us have improved tremendously on where to place the ball.”

“I think our serve receive got really good,” Chaplinski said. “We learned how to read the ball and get our angles right. Everyone is just doing really good at that.”

“Everyone is ready to lay out for every ball,” James added. “There aren’t a lot of communication errors, the ‘you take it, I take it.’ There are people on the court that will just come in and take it. I think that’s a pretty good thing.”

“Our number-one goal is consistency,” Komanec said. “We need our errors, our serving errors, our hitting errors to decrease. They have to. We have depth. If we have girls who get the first shot who are struggling at that, there are girls ready to step up and try it. The other thing we’re working on is confidence in tipping and placing balls where we need to.”

Paige Daley, Patty Kloss, Shaelin Kutz and Olivia Buske round out this year’s senior class. Mylie Stephens is another junior looking to contribute for the Pirates.

While the Pirates got their first look at Columbus Catholic at Medford, they hope to make the Oct. 8 home meet with the Dons a match that will mean something in the Eastern Cloverbelt title chase, along with the Colby match two days later. Conference play opens Sept. 17 at Spencer. Komanec said Loyal and Owen-Withee figure to be teams Gilman can’t take lightly either. “We need to start strong,” Chaplinski said. “Even against the slower teams, we’ ve let them catch up to us. This year we can’t do that.” “There were teams that we lost to last year that we shouldn’t have,” James said. “I think we’re going to be more disciplined this year.” Another shot at a regional or sectional title isn’t guaranteed. In the first year of the WIAA’s new tournament format, Gilman drops to Division 5 this year, but its sectional half-bracket includes some recent powerhouses like Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, Athens, Columbus Catholic and Wonewoc-Center, a state qualifier the past three years is on the other side of the sectional.

“They’re excited, but I also have to make sure they don’t think it’s just going to happen,” Komanec said. “Aside from the fact anything can happen, our path is completely different this year.”