Merced College volleyball looking for team effort

Team chemistry usually has much more to do with the makeup of a group of players than it does with coaches.

Bonds forged in practice and the heat of competition will only take a group so far. It’s usually the activities away from the court, particularly those not preempted by their coaches, that truly brings a team together.

If the Merced College volleyball team’s Twitter and Instagram accounts are to be believed, this could be the closest group of Lady Devils the campus has seen in some time. From trips to the beach to painting the women’s locker room, the team has seemingly spent as much time together off the court as it has on it leading into the season. Coach Jessica Casey said it’s a bond the group will need as, without much star power, its success and failures will likely come down to how it functions as a unit.

“We’re small and we know it,” Casey said. “We fortunately have a lot of girls that are high jumpers, but there are times we’re going to have to win games with our scrappiness and defense. We know we’re going to get blocked sometimes, but we can’t be afraid of that. Most teams are going to be bigger than us, so we need to be quick, defensively sound and have good ball control.

“Lindsey (Hartman) and Rachel (Kaler) are going to be big focal points of our offense, but we can’t just rely on any one or two players. We’re going to need to move the ball around and get contributions across the board to be successful.”

Merced has four returners, led by outside hitters Kaler and Hartman, who were one and two on the team in kills last season. Middle blocker Emily Baker led the team in blocks, and libero Nalee Thao topped the Lady Devils in digs.

Casey added talented freshmen to complement her returners, including setters Dayanna Torres and Macy Oh, outside hitter Kinsey Kerby and middle blocker Kayla Curutchet.

“Honestly, we have a good team this year,” Kaler said. “We’re gelling really well. We’re all playing really well together. We’re not going to be an easy team to beat.”

The Lady Devils proved that over the weekend, taking six sets and just dropping two in the Cuesta Scrimmage Tournament. The real action begins Wednesday, as Merced hosts Siskiyous at 5 p.m. at Don Reid Court.

“We saw a lot of big teams, and we didn’t let that scare us,” Hartman said. “We were missing some players also, and we didn’t let that stop us. We came in hard and showed the other teams who we are.”

Men’s water polo

Coach: Scott McCall

2015: 19-12, 8-2 Coast Conference

Key returners: None.

Key newcomers: Ethan Eagleton, Josh Buck, Cody Costa, Jacob Mumford

Notable losses: Caleb Rogers, Jordan Salcedo, Isaac Santana

Outlook: After back-to-back NorCal Tournament appearances, Merced graduated the majority of its team. While McCall did add players who lit up the scoreboard in high school, such as Eagleton and Buck, a third straight NorCal trip might be difficult with an all-freshman squad.

Women’s water polo

Coach: Karin Umemura

2015 record: 15-7, 8-2 Coast Conference

Key returners: Sydney Gerstenberg, Kimberly Canisso

Key newcomers: Hannah Groteguth, Delilah Medina

Notable losses: Rebekah Groteguth, Brontae Gomes, Nicol Goodnight

Outlook: Gerstenberg and Canisso are the only returners, so Merced is going to be inexperienced but will have a good base to build upon on the defensive side. Hannah Groteguth will be looked upon to lead the offense and pick up where her recently graduated All-American sister, Rebekah, left off.

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 6:22 PM with the headline "Merced College volleyball looking for team effort."