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The Powell High School volleyball team is no exception as the likes of Anissa Warner (All-Conference) and Breanna Donarski (All-Conference, All-State), along with Kinsey Ashby, Emily Herman, Richelle Phister and Nikkole Schneider have moved …
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As is often the case in high school sports, each new year sees some familiar faces lost to graduation, with some new faces stepping in to fill those voids.
The Powell High School volleyball team is no exception as the likes of Anissa Warner (All-Conference) and Breanna Donarski (All-Conference, All-State), along with Kinsey Ashby, Emily Herman, Richelle Phister and Nikkole Schneider have moved on.
And it wasn’t just the players, as head coach Morgan Kistler is no longer at the helm.
But with each of those vacancies, there are new names that Panther fans will get to know.
Starting with head coach Randi Bonander who, while new to the position, has been the Powell freshman volleyball coach since 2008, so she is very familiar with the program and the players.
And there are plenty of returning varsity players who will help bring the newcomers along, including Mariah Phister, Brook Sweet, Rachelle Cole, Tayli Stenerson, Mallory Triplett, Rachel Bonander, Jordan Walsh, Dani Asay and Deasia Daugherty.
They will also be looking to build upon last year’s 13-15 overall record, which included a 4-2 mark for third place in conference play.
That team went on to go 3-1 at regionals to reach state, where a match was won before two losses ended the season.
“We have girls with diverse skill sets and they are all versatile athletes,” coach Bonander said. “And we will look to the seniors and juniors to guide the sophomores on the varsity level.”
Though some considerable talents were lost, there will be opportunities for new stars to rise, and having nine returning varsity players will show little drop off in experience.
And with that experience on the varsity level of so many, knowledge of doing things the Panther way is being seen by the new coach.
“They are the kind of girls who will leave everything they have out on the court,” Bonander said.
With their ability and experience, that sort of mentality could well go a long way in getting the 2016 Powell volleyball team plenty of marks in the win column.
The Lady Panthers start out the season this weekend at the Riverton Invitational, which will be trial by fire as they play three matches Friday — at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. — and three more Saturday — at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.
See the Tuesday edition of the Tribune for a recap of the busy weekend.
