Lady Sparts hope to return to ‘Final Eight’
By Clinton Vining
Publisher, The Sun
The Lady Spartans lost a lot of talent to graduation last year, but new head volleyball coach Denise Dickey is confident her team knows the secret to success—hard work.
The Sheridan High School varsity volleyball squad returns five athletes from last year’s team that finished fourth at state. However, just two—third-year starting setter Hanna Ellis and Megan Bainter, both seniors—played much last season.
“I really don’t look at this year as a rebuilding year,” Dickey said. “I really expect to pick up, as best as we can, where we left off.”
Under coach Matt Leichty, the Lady Spartans reached the state quarterfinals the past four straight years. They placed fourth twice and won a state championship in 2008. Leichty resigned earlier this summer to coach at South Salem High School.
Prior to taking last season off to coach club volleyball and follow her daughter’s collegiate career, Dickey coached for nine years at SHS—eight as an assistant under Leichty and one year under his predecessor.
Of the Lady Sparts’ five returners, four are seniors and one is a junior. In addition, the six girls already selected to join the varsity roster are also mostly upperclassmen. Four are juniors and two are sophomores.
“We’re not going to be a young team,” Dickey said.
Although Ellis and Bainter are the only two girls who received much game time, the other returners earned a lot of experience on the practice court.
“They had a lot of experience against a very good team,” Dickey said.
Ellis, who earned all-West Valley League honors last year, will resume as Sheridan’s setter. The other positions are still up in the air.
Seniors Kourtney Vandewettering, Keely Swift and junior Makayla Niehaus make up the returning varsity girls. Joining them on the court will be juniors Kylie Denton, Nikki Gibbs and Meagan Ogle and sophomores Lottie Breeden and Kayla Roberts. Junior Nicole Trujillo will float up from the junior varsity.
“The biggest piece to success is the work in the off-season and the effort by the girls and how much they are willing to put into it,” Dickey said.
That said, several of the Lady Spartans played club volleyball throughout the off-season and most spent all summer playing at open gym.
The team’s top goal: Returning to the “Final Eight.”
“I think that’s fully attainable,” Dickey said.
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