Falcons bring mix of experience and youth to the table
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford Falcons volleyball team will have a new look as they head into the 2024 season, and while there may be some adjustments early, they will look to continue the recent success that the team has had over the past few seasons.
Last year’s Falcons team was led by a number of seniors with multiple years of varsity experience, including first team allconference player Sydney Falteisek, second team all-conference selection Sommer Brodhagen and honorable mention Calley Ruesch. While Abbotsford has seen some turnover in their rotation, there are a few returning members that will help lead the squad early as they adjust to the varsity game.
Junior setter Faith Sperl will continue to anchor Abbotsford’s attack. After getting significant playing time as a freshman and earning an all-conference honorable mention award in 2023, Sperl will bring back experience at an important position, especially in the Falcons’ fast paced attack. Fellow juniors Celia Schindler and Caylee Clement also saw significant time in last year’s varsity rotation. Schindler is likely to get more looks from her middle hitter position this year while Clement will move from her position as a defensive specialist to the team’s full time libero this season.
“We’re replacing six starters, so that is a lot,” head coach John Kreeger said. “But luckily for us we are also bringing back some really key pieces. Faith Sperl, our setter, is going to be a three-year starter and she runs the offense. Our libero was a DS last year and she brings a lot of experience to the back row and Margo Pogodzinski does a little bit of everything. She is kind of the heartbeat of our team and does all the little things.”
“We’ll also have a lot of underclassmen that are coming in,” he added. “We’re looking at starting two players who haven’t played in our varsity program before, so
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2024 ABBOTSFORD FALCONS VOLLEYBALL TEAM - This year’s 2024 Abby Falcons volleyball team is, in the back row, left to right, Coach Kreeger, Coach Mel, Reece Nelson, Marilyn Hammock, Lauryn Harris, Celia Schindler, Alexis Searer, Kinsley Will, Kinsley Kalepp, Mia Bonilla, Abigail Hernadez, and Coach Griesmer. In the middle row, left to right, are Margo Pogodzinski, Riley Podevels, Faith Sperl, Nevaeh Treankler, Keltie Will, Emely Mireles, Ximena Aguilera, Ella Schreiber, Kellyanne Maldonado, and Coach Codee. In the front row are Campbell Brodhagen, Halie VanLuven, Caylee Clement, Emily Gonzalez, Ana Sophia Tzintzun, Jazmin Jimenez, Ailin Hernadez and Allie Erikson.
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they’ll be stepping into big shoes.”
Senior defensive specialists Pogodzinski and Neveah Treankler and senior outside hitter Reece Nelson will be key parts of the revamped rotation, with Pogodzinski working with Clement to solidify the Falcons’ receiving and Nelson providing some additional firepower at the net. Sophomore Riley Podevels and senior Halie VanLuven will also come in as outside hitters and sophomore Marilyn Hammock and freshman Lauryn Harris will rotate in at the middle hitter position. Sophomore Campbell Brodhagen will also see some time in the Falcons back row defense.
The new look of the team also means that there was a different approach to the beginning of the season for the Falcons.
“The big difference for us is that we went from refining things and trying to tweak them [last year], and now it’s just a new experience for everybody,” Kreeger said. “The biggest learning curve will be just getting used to each other on the court. About half the team played on varsity last year, so they didn’t play a lot of games with the kids filling in, and we have a couple kids who have never played with anyone. So it is a
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new experience for them, the speed of the game, it's a big jump. The way we run our offense, it is very timing based, so it does require a lot more reps together. It’s really hard to just step right into that.”
While there may be some challenges to overcome, especially early in the season as the team continues to build their rapport, Kreeger says they will step up to the challenge.
“One of their biggest strengths is their belief in themselves,” he noted. “I don’t think any of these kids doubt their ability, I don’t think there’s a question that they deserve to be on the court, and I think that’s something that a lot of people do struggle with, but I don’t think this team is going to do that. So that will be a big stepping stone for us early.”
The Falcons have already seen some of that confidence come into play after picking up three wins in their first six contests. In their opening triangular, they defeated Augusta 2-0, with Schindler and Nelson co-leading the team in kills with seven each before falling to Neillsville 2-0. They then traveled to Wisconsin Rapids for a tournament this past Saturday and while they dropped straight sets to Reedsburg and Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln to start the tourney, the Falcons bounced back to defeat Wausau East 2-0 and then defeat Colby 2-1.
In their closest set of the season, Abbotsford just edged out the neighboring Hornets, taking the first set 25-19 before Colby grabbed the second set 27-25. The Falcons regained momentum in the decider, however and won 15-8 to improve to 3-3 on the season. Schindler had 10 kills in the win over the Hornets, but it was from the service line that Abbotsford dominated, racking up 14 aces. Sperl led the team with five, Clement picked up four, Schinlder had three and Brodhagen and Podevels had one apiece.
“We are an extremely young team that is growing so much in each match,” Kreeger said following the tournament. “The difference between our first match on Tuesday and our last versus Colby is night and day. These young ladies are starting to believe in themselves, and we are excited for what's to come.”
