High School Volleyball: Northeastern seeking OHC North repeat

“We’re going to need a little luck to do that,” said Jets coach Phil Anders. “We definitely have the potential to do that. It’s going to depend on injuries, the length of the season and if we can keep it up. We lost some from last year, but the kids are pretty resilient and I think they’ll pull through. We always strive for a 20-win season, but that’s pretty tough.”

The Jets graduated three seniors, including All-OHC first team pick MacKenzie Grimm and honorable mention selection Emma Wiseman.

Northeastern returns a strong junior class, including setter Madison Grimm, libero Elizabeth Wiseman, middle hitter Sam Wiseman. Senior outside hitter Lauren Tuttle and senior opposite hitter Janna Straight also return.

“Ball control is going to be an issue for us, but the good thing is that our varsity players have a lot of experience compared to other teams,” Anders said.

Sophomores Reese Donaldson and Paige Haemmerle will also see time on varsity.

“We’re kind of a young team even though we have several older athletes out,” Anders said. “We have a few seniors who haven’t played in awhile. It’s going to be a real challenge for everybody.”

Senior outside hitter Graci Leonard and senior defensive specialist Kaitlyn Miller both returned to the team this fall.

“They’re definitely going to contribute to our team,” Anders said.

Northeastern finished the season ranked 12th in the Division III state poll, but injuries struck during the postseason. They lost to Arcanum in five sets in a D-III district semifinal match.

They’re hoping to advance deeper into the postseason, but they’re not looking too far ahead, Anders said.

“Every day we talk about taking it one game at a time and that anyone can beat you if you don’t play your game,” he said. “They know that. They give a lot of effort and as a coach, that’s really all you can ask.”

The Jets will battle with Fairbanks and West Liberty-Salem for the league title, but the conference as a whole will be a challenge, Anders said.

“On any one day, anyone can beat us in the league if we don’t have the ball control we need,” he said.

At this point, they’re thankful to be able to take the floor this fall after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the spring club volleyball season and made changes to their summer practice schedule.

“The athletes are very excited that we’re going to have it,” Anders said. “COVID-19 has changed the landscape of volleyball on practicing in the summer and how it’s going to be played, period. We’re just excited to be back.”

There will be several changes to the matches this season, including no bench changes or slapping hands between games, Anders said.

“My team is pretty resilient and they’ve really worked hard,” he said. “They take what we say for the most part to heart and try to do the best things they can for their team.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH