Whether playing indoors or outside, a pair of Mission Bay High volleyball teams have their sights set on acing winning seasons.
The girls sand volleyball team under head coach Brittany Johnson sported a 12-10 record heading into action this week.
The Bucs are led by five seniors; leaders that Johnson said are all extremely talented.
“I have been coaching the five seniors on the team since they were freshmen, and they are all extremely talented – Cassidy Kepner, Alina Snyder, Destiny Curiel, Lili Christensen, and Pearl Moore. The ‘A’ team consists of two amazing juniors, Maddie Tandy and Alex Briski. Finally, our freshmen are similarly talented, with Bethany Kepner always competing in one of the top positions,” Johnson said.
As Johnson noted, sand volleyball is a game of doubles, so there are no specific “positions.” It’s about who is the best, most consistent athlete.
“Our goals for the season include finishing with a winning record, fostering a great love for the sport, and having fun in the sun. All of the girls get along famously so it is easy to pair them up for each competition,”Johnson said.
Given the talent on this team, consistency should not be a problem. Boys volleyball
In volleyball action indoors, the Bucs re-started their boys’ varsity program this year with first-year head coach Nikki Caufield and assistant coach Jeffery Caufield.
“With only one starter having played indoor volleyball before, the learning curve has been tremendous,” Caufield stated. “So far our record is 0-3 in league play against all higher division opponents but the team is showing steady improvement each game. We are closing the gap on match scores and starting to take games away early in the season.”
Outside hitter, Kieran Wills (junior), middle blocker, Jefree Johnson (senior) and setter, Jacob Cayatano (junior) are leading the Bucs’ team in kills, blocks and assists, respectively.
As Caufield pointed out, the team has played most opponents close so far and just needs to reduce the number of first-year mistakes to win some matches. “With only one senior on the roster, the team looks to have a solid base to build on for the future program,” Caufield added.
