Volleyball heads to Salinas to start the season

"We have more depth on this team than we have probably ever had in my eleven years coaching here which makes it really difficult to roll out a lineup," said head coach Molly Mordaunt-Hummel about her team that has gone a combined 64-23 the past three seasons.

"We have five upperclassmen returning which is awesome. Jessica Smith played a big role. She played every set as a freshman. Having that experience is pretty awesome because a lot of programs aren't going to have that experience."

Jessica Smith had 118 kills as a freshman. Also back from two seasons ago are Kiana Day, Kaitlyn Morenzone, Karina Fardmanesh, and Angelica Mercado.

"It provides more maturity," said Mordaunt-Hummel about having that many players back this season. "Maturity and experience is something that you really can't teach. I think that it's a huge bonus for our program to have that maturity and leadership from our upperclassmen. I want to kind of see it play out a little bit. I think on Friday I will send all the super sophomores to the line for the coin toss. They are all going to play a big role and have played a big role in the training over the summer and expectations. To everyone else, it's brand new."

While the captains might not be fully decided the starting lineup is for a season where the team expectations are to win the conference, go to the state tournament, and win state. "We have a pretty set starting lineup as of today. We kind of know where each individual player stands. We are planning to run a 6-2 offense. That's with Ellie and Kaitlyn Morenzone setting. Ellie is going to play six rotations. We are looking to have a DS go in for one of our outside hitters in the back row."

With more new faces than returning ones, Savannah LeBarre and Emma Miller are two of the new players to watch this season. "Savannah LeBarre is going to play a pretty key role, Emma Miller our two outsides," said Mordaunt-Hummel. "They are probably our two most offensive attackers on our team so we are going to rely heavily on them to be able to put that ball away."

A new addition along the sidelines also this season is Mike Mordaunt, the father of head coach Molly Mordaunt-Hummel. "My dad was an attorney for 46 years and he just retired. His dream his whole life was to help coach volleyball. He has always wanted to be here so he is on our staff as a volunteer."

For home matches this season the capacity will be limited to two guests per participant and those in attendance will be required to wear masks that cover both their mouth and nose at all times.