Young Eagle squad look to capitalize on last year's success

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- The New Ulm High Eagles are very optimistic. Nothing about that is earth-shattering. Every volleyball team in Minnesota has yet to lose a match.

The question is whether the Eagles will continue to be optimistic through the end of the 2002 season. They have reason to start the season with positive thoughts -- in 2001 the Eagles stunned many with how well they played under first-year coach Becky Otte.

But they also have reasons to enter the new season anxiously. Only two players saw any meaningful playing time last season.

"I think we're going to start out a little streaky, until we find our spots," Otte said. "The girls have a lot of experience in practice, but they don't have as much game experience. But I think we'll definitely have a winning season again. We should be above .500 and we should be in the top half of our conference."

New Ulm High will get its season under way Aug. 27 when the Eagles host Hutchinson in a nonconference match. The Eagles will open their 2002 South Central Conference season Sept. 12 when they travel to St. Peter.

Nine Eagles on the 2002 roster saw some playing time in 2001, but only seniors Christine Otis and Steph Navara were starters on last year's surprising side.

Otis -- a 5-foot-3 defensive specialist is beginning her third year on the varsity. She was a starter in the back row as a sophomore and a junior. She echoes Otte's optimism.

"We expect to do just as well as last season," Otis said. "We might have a little bit of a slow start to the season because of our inexperience. ... We expect to be No. 1 or 2 in our conference."

But questions abound if that goal is to be fulfilled. The Eagles lost All-SCC setter Amanda Paa to graduation. That means a new quarterback for the offense, and the Eagles must find new hitters to replace Allison Boddy, Jodi Schmidt, Tiff Drill and Carly Dirlam, also all lost to graduation.

New Ulm High has found a new setter. She's 5-foot-5 senior Laura Yager. And she's confident.

"I'm excited for the season to start," Yager said. "It's going to be different this season. We had a lot of starters who graduated so it's going to be a new lineup. It's going to be fun."

For it to be fun, Yager will not only have to learn to be a starting setter. She will have to learn her teammates.

"Laura's doing a really good job," Otte said. "She is stepping up as a floor leader for us. She's hustling and doing very well with communication and getting our hitters set up where they need to be. She's making really smart decisions."

Navara returns to the Eagles front row. Last season, she averaged 2.31 kills per game -- second-best on the squad.

While New Ulm High -- like last season -- will not feature that one "go-to-girl," Navara will need to be one of the offensive leaders for the Eagles to repeat their success of 2001.

"There's big shoes for us to fill," Navara said. "But we're confident we can fill them. We had some amazing players last season, just awesome players. ... But we've always known we've had the talent."

Navara is a 5-foot-7 outside hitter. Therein lies one of the biggest challenges for New Ulm High. Navara is one of the taller Eagles. Height, it seems, has always been something the Eagles have been short of.

Kayla Farasyn is the tallest player at 5-foot-11. Cassandra Hibbard, Natalie Hanson, Stacy Stueber and Mary Otis -- Christine's younger sister -- are all 5-foot-9.

Also competing for front row spots are Brittany Zander, Angie Flor, Amber Bianchi, Miranda Mathiowetz and Sara Schneeberg, but none are taller than 5-foot-8.

Again, the Eagles will rely upon defense.

"We really snuck up on a lot of teams last year. This year, we're trying to keep the same focus on defense," Otte said. "We were a defensive team last year. It's going to be the same this year."

But expections are different this year. Last season, New Ulm High was supposed to be an easy win on just about every opponent's schedule. Quite a few of those opponents got a surprise.

This year, even with the loss of key players, other teams will be less likely to take the Eagles lightly.

"We're looking forward to a really great season," Yager said. "Our expectations are still high."