EC Volleyball Looking to Take Step Forward
EUREKA – Eureka volleyball coach Nick Mackall had one word to sum up Monday's exhibition sweep over Harris-Stowe: momentum.
The match didn't count towards the Red Devils' 2021 record, but it still meant a lot to the maroon and gold. Exhibition or not, it was the team's first time opening a year of competition with a victory in a decade, setting a pleasant tone for the real season to come.
Heading into Mackall's third season at the helm of the program, he says that the difference between his first fall and now is "clearly night and day."
"I love how this team loves to grind," Mackall said. "I love how hard this team works. I love how this team loves each other. I love how much this team loves volleyball."
The 2021 Red Devils' roster features 13 players, including seven returning members of the spring squad that navigated the COVID season.
Senior Corrine DeBoard led the team with 103 kills on the season while hitting a team-high .121. A middle hitter last year, Mackall said she could play on the right side this season. Fellow senior Emma Harris led the team with 2.19 kills per set and sophomore Regan Reed added 1.6 kills per set.
Sophomore middle blocker Katelin Peters notched a team-high 18 total blocks, while junior Jordyn Fox and senior Megan Masching contributed 2.98 and 2.85 digs per set in the back row, respectively.
Setter Faith Catour distributed 281 assists over the course of the year in her first season as a Red Devil. To Mackall, Catour is one of the most improved players from last season.
"She's helping take our team to the next level," he said.
On Monday, the Red Devils saw the debut of several newcomers. Mallory Ward and Brooklyn Shell – two athletic out-of-state recruits – both unofficially made their first starts of their collegiate career. Ward, a Bridgeton, Missouri native, will likely play in the middle or the right side for the Red Devils. Shell, who hails from Evansville, Indiana, will likely play on the left side.
"We haven't had out-of-state volleyball players coming into Eureka over the last five or six years," Mackall said, "so to get kids that know how to compete is a huge deal."
Freshmen Katelyn Linderbaum, Alyvia Gannon and Baylor Cluver were contributors off the bench on Monday. Linderbaum, another out-of-state recruit from Castalia, will be an outside hitter and Gannon and Cluver will likely add depth to the back row. Cluver will also back up Catour in the setter role.
Eureka High School product Alexis Charlton was sidelined due to injury on Monday, but she will be another contributor at the net this season.
On Wednesday, the Red Devils will officially open the season at home inside Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center. They'll be looking to pick up where they left off and feed off that momentum from Monday's victory as they take on Knox at 7 p.m.