Abby aims to reclaim conference title
Falcons bring in mix of vets and newbies
A year after winning the Marawood-North title, the Falcons first conference crown in over a decade, Abbotsford’s 2020 season was undone not by injury or any opposing team, but by COVID-19.
“Our season lasted 14 days,” returning head coach Lee Schreiber said about 2019. “So it started and stopped and started again. We were the program that got hit the hardest and soonest. We were one day away from starting, and then down for three weeks, then we had to rush back into the gym so we could qualify.”
The start and stop nature of the season, combined with Abby only having half a dozen games, put the Falcons at a severe disadvantage.
“Every program out there had half a season in on us before we could hit the floor,” Schreiber noted. “The drive just wasn’t there because that initial start didn’t happen.”
Last year has left a sour taste in the mouths of the Abbotsford Falcons volleyball program, and this year’s squad is looking to bounce back and remind everyone that the Falcons mean business.
“Obviously, when you lose an entire year, you’ve got some catching up to do,” Lee says. “We were behind, but the girls dug their heels in, they made it to the open gyms, we played six nights of summer league, played some competitive ball. Last weekend we went down to the Dells for Summer Slam. So when they came into Monday, it felt more like 2019.”
Already things are approaching some level of normalcy in 2021. Masks are no longer mandated at practices, tournaments are a go, and the Falcons have another ferociously talented squad that’s eyeing a conference title.
“Just looking back to summer league . . . you could just feel the tension leave the air,” Schreiber said. “It just made it so much more normal, and more of what the girls are used to. We even had an open gym leading up to it, which we had none of that last year. All of that is just huge.”
While COVID-19 is still very much on everyone’s mind, the Falcons are moving cautiously forward, and eager to forget last year and write a new chapter that includes another Marawood title.
For the Falcons to do that, it’s going to require new players stepping up and filling big roles. Last year’s seniors Mya Ruesch, Ava Decker, Courtney Bittner, Kaylee Boller, Shanna Kalepp and Amber VanLuven are gone.
Decker and Bittner are critical losses, with both multi-year starters and all-conference recipients at setter and libero.
“There was a lot of longevity with those two players. They were a huge part of winning that conference championship in 2019,” Schreiber remarked.
Thankfully, coach Schreiber already has several candidates that he believes can help replace the void left by Decker and Bittner’s graduation.
“Right now we’re looking at junior Adriana Fuentes to fill the libero shoes,” Schreiber explains. “We all know how big those shoes are since Courtney had over a thousand digs, but Adriana is working her butt off, and she’s getting there and where we need to be.”
The Falcons are also looking to Bridgett Pogodzinski to fill the role of the departed Decker. Pogodzinski, now a senior, has been with the program for several years, and she has quickly settled into the role of lead setter.
“She’s been working really hard on the delivery of the ball and the speed part of the game. She’s where she needs to be.”
Abbotsford has also tabbed Brissa Diaz and Stephany Espino as two players likely to spend time as setters.
One role that Schreiber won’t have a problem filling is up front with his heavy hitters. Over the years, the Falcons have built a reputation for their net game, and the 2021 team continues that tradition with returner Olivia Hammel, a twotime Marawood all-conference selection.
There’s also the return of Haylee Soyk, Sydney Falteisek and Lydia Carlson up front to give opponents something to think about.
“Last year we had Lydia play the right side, but we’ve now moved her over the strong side,” Scrheiber says. “She’ll be opposite of Hammel, and that has really added another angle to our game because we now have two strong power lefts that are ready to bring it every game, and Lydia has just skyrocketed. So we have firepower in every rotation that we go.”
Sophomores Briseida Escalara and Sommer Brodhagen will be two more to watch. Schreiber says both players bring a ton of athleticism to the court.
“They bring a lot to the table. These are two very good athletes, and I’m expecting good things from them. So, we have a very athletic bunch this year.”
That combination of youth and experience puts Abbotsford in a very good spot to be at the top of the Marawood when it’s all said and done. But perhaps more than the X’s and O’s, Schreiber sees a lot of similarities between the 2019 squad and that includes the competitive fire.
“They still have the hunger they had back in 2019, and they may be hungrier. A couple of them are seniors, and they know it’s their last hurrah.”
Schreiber says there will be a learning curve once the girls get into the season, but from what he has seen in the first week of practice, he likes where his student- athletes are with their games.
The biggest hurdle to come will be outside the arenas and courts, but Schreiber says as long as they players stay healthy and COVID free, this year’s Falcons should be walking away with some hardware when it’s all said and done.
“Early in the summer I had some questions, but now we’re into August, and I think we’re going to be OK,” Schreiber says as he watches his players bump, set and spike.
“We’ve always put a good product on the floor, and I see another year of having another good product. We stay healthy, they’ll be talking about us.”
