A new season of volleyball is among us, and the Blackburn College Volleyball Team is amped to kick things off. First-year coach Jordan Barton inherits a Beaver squad hoping to bounce back from a difficult 2014 campaign where they finished 3-29. Barton, who formerly served as the head coach at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, will have one of the largest rosters Blackburn has seen in recent memory.
"It's really beneficial for scrimmages and lineup purposes. The girls are pushing each other and it's really competitive," Coach Barton said, she added "We are really strong defensively with some really good upperclassmen and defensive players. We also have some newcomers that are really pushing our upperclassmen."
Among the upperclassmen are senior captains Patrece McLain (Rantoul, Ill.) and Karson Gragert (Georgetown, Ill.). McLain returns for her fourth and final season as a Beaver as a setter while Gragert is an outside hitter.
Junior Marlee Lindstrom (Maquoketa, Iowa) is the third captain voted on by her peers. Lindstrom is coming off an exceptional 2014 season where she finished seventh in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in digs with 420, good enough for 4.08 per game. Sophomore Alexis Dick (De Land, Ill.) and freshman Vanessa Reed (Springfield, Ill.) will join her as defensive specialists.
With a new coach comes a new system, which the transition for the team has been seamless. "The girls are really enjoying themselves, they are talking positive and getting along. This is very important in volleyball because everything correlates together," Coach Barton said.
Joining team captain Gragert at outside hitter will be sophomore Delanie Casto (Pittsfield, Ill.), and the freshman trio of Mallory Scharf (Waterloo, Ill.), Alanni Young (Glasford, Ill.), and Emily Schroeder (St. Louis, Mo.).
Rounding up the squad at the middle blocker position will be sophomore Kirsten Buzzard (Beecher City, Ill.), and Freshmen Jensen Ballinger (Vincennes, Ind.), Shelsie Timmermeier (Litchfield, Ill.), and Cheyenne Reichert (Athens, Ill.). "I'm looking for Jensen Ballinger to step up as a freshman and run the offense right away. She will be big for us this year, freeing Patrece McLain of setting duties so she can be an offensive weapon," said Barton.
Although the Beavers were predicted to struggle this season according to the SLIAC preseason poll, Coach Barton expects to turn a few heads. "I think that we are going to surprise some people. Our defense is really strong and we have a couple of great girls that can put the ball away. I think we are going to be a completely different team this year and I'm really excited to show the SLIAC," Barton explained.
The Beavers will kick the season off on September 2nd when they travel to St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. Start time set for 7:00 pm.