Coming off a 6-win season, the Southwest volleyball team is bringing an energy and good attitude into a new year where some changes — especially defensively — are required.

Steve Voyak, Southwest High School volleyball coach, said his team enters the new season with renewed determination.

“Attitude and energy [are our strengths],” he said. “That may seem flimsy, but we lack any advantage in size, speed, experience or athleticism, especially 6 vs. 6. But, the girls played through some real adversity this summer. We went into several matches completely overmatched this summer, and my girls refused to give up and just kept pushing and working.”

The Lady Trojans are also learning a new defensive scheme based on players’ strengths and abilities versus traditional alignments.

“We have never used a 4-2 alignment and set from the front row before, but that’s what’s necessary,” Voyak said. “We are also single blocking everything in the hopes of giving the defense more help with five players behind the block, rather than four. The girls have worked at it over the summer but need to improve even more to win games. It just makes more sense than blocking with two.”

Voyak said senior Marissa Freeman will again lead the Lady Trojans this season.

“Her energy, attitude and work ethic are spectacular but sometimes she struggles with consistency, especially at the serving line,” Voyak said. “She wants to play the college level, so she needs to fix that and become a more efficient hitter to help us with quicker points. Her serve reception and defense has also improved dramatically with the addition of club ball.”

Voyak said junior libero Olivia Hnem anchors the defense.

“Her positivity, leadership and energy help hold our team together, especially when we go through a rough patch,” Voyak said. “We’d also like to use her as a back row hitter, as well. Her best trait is her work ethic. She constantly wants to get better with every practice and really hopes to take her game to another level this season.”

Senior Rylee Hobbs will play a new position this year.

“We moved her to the middle because Freeman and senior Addison Parker were more effective as outsides; so the summer was a learning experience hitting against lots of taller players,” Voyak said. “She has handled it well and taken on a more vocal leadership role on the team.”

Voyak said senior Emma Outhouse is returning from injury.

“She was a setter and captain of the JV last season and served on the varsity making 254/265 (95.8%) with 26 aces,” he said. “She added 43 digs on the varsity and led the JV in assists and serve percentage.”

Senior Addison Parker is expected to be a top hitter.

“Her athleticism should allow her to play all six rotations and help with serve reception at times,” Voyak said. “Her serve, defense and serve reception improved dramatically over the summer.”

Senior Kylee Rhodes is working back into the rotation.

“She is in the mix for some back-row rotations as a reserve,” Voyak said.

Voyak said sophomore setter Abi Hnem stepped up over the summer.

“Her athleticism and instincts allowed us to expand her role on the varsity this summer,” he said. “She is now one of two setters and plays reception on three rotations. This is a lot of pressure for such a young player, but she has been calm and handled it well. She was a top server percentage-wise this summer at 92%, and her volleyball IQ grows with each encounter.”

Another sophomore, Emily Brooks, is adjusting well to varsity play.

“She played the entire summer on the varsity and made significant strides but will need to get quicker and more assertive to be efficient at that level,” Voyak said. “Her attitude, energy and work ethic have been great and she wants to learn.”

Voyak said a third sophomore, Taytum Cotton, impressed over the summer.

“She will start out on the JV but the sky is the limit because she’s intelligent and has a high energy level and enjoys the game,” Voyak said.

At the youngest grade level, freshman Paula Callison has shown promise at setter.

“She was the 4th best server on the team and was third in aces,” Voyak said. “She has a real chance to play some on the varsity, especially as a server. She needs to improve her communication skills and assertiveness on the floor.”

With the team’s age and experience composition, and Brooks being the tallest at 5-9, Voyak said several challenges will test the Lady Trojans this season.

“Communication, ball control, hitting, reception and serving are all concerns,” he said. “After serving at a 92% rate as a team last season, we served at 83% this summer, which is incredibly low for a varsity team. Outhouse and the Hnem sisters have been consistently over 90%, but the rest of the team has not.”

Voyak said expectations will be high for his two standouts.

“Freeman and Olivia Hnem are known commodities and will be asked to do everything and then some,” Voyak said. “Those two will need to raise their game and the other girls will need to transition to their roles quickly.”

Southwest starts its season on Sept. 4 at home against Marionville.