A look at Bloomington-area high school volleyball teams this fall

A couple of new coaches have already greeted the new high school volleyball season in the Bloomington area, so let's take a closer look at our five area programs:

Edgewood

COACH: Sam Jones. LAST YEAR: 26-6 overall, 9-1 Western Indiana Conference.

RETURNING STARTERS: Lydia Baugh, Sr. DS; Gracie Farmer, Sr. MB; Madi Bland, So. DS; Olivia Edgeman, So. OH.

OUTLOOK: A solid group of returning starters is joined by some promising freshmen as the Mustangs reset under a "new" coach (Jones was 17-13 with Edgewood in 2014), but hope to continue to improve the win total as they've done six years straight. With two-time H-T Player of the Year Kaiden Harrington graduated and headed to DePauw, it's time for others to step up on offense. This team, Jones said, should be more balanced.

"We should be diverse. She's been overlooked a bit, but Gracie's had a great a career and she's a four-year starter and this is her chance to shine. Overall, I'm pleased with this group. They're buying into what we're doing. I really want us to take a lot of pride in attacking and being aggressive. I want to see how uncomfortable we can get and then see how good we can be at something."

Edgewood will employ a 6-2 formation with freshman Bella May and Jenna Abram at setter. "They both come in with so much club experience," Jones said. "They have a poise about them and they're ready to play at a higher level." Five are fighting for three DS spots with seniors Baugh, Emily Whaley, junior Nora Baugh and Bland. Edgeman and Farmer give the Mustangs two dependable swingers at the net while May, a lefty, is a threat, too. Kinzi Farmer, Gracie's sister, is the other middle. Elli Emmons has been moved to right side hitter. Savannah Robbins and Ella LaRoche are also working on the outside.

MATCHES THAT MATTER: Aug 24 at Northview, conference and sectional favorite on the docket that night. Sept. 7, Owen Valley, rivalry match always important. Sept. 28, Bloomington North, Cougars have every starter back from a 21-match winner.

Bloomington North

COACH: Disney Bronnenberg. LAST YEAR: 21-13, 3-2 Conference Indiana.

RETURNING STARTERS: Avery Freeman, Jr. DS/L; Claire Hodson, Jr. OH; Mia Robbennolt, Sr. MH; Morgan Barrow, Jr. OH; Kenli Sullivan, Jr. OH; Sydney Pitner, MB, Sr.; Ava Moore, Jr. S

OUTLOOK: Bronnenberg returns for an eighth year, the longest stretch for any coach in program history. She's got an experienced crew, and the entire starting seven (with libero Freeman) is back. North, coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons, will be tough to defend with what can be a balanced attack behind Robbennolt, Sullivan, Hodson, Barrow and Pitner. Behind them is one of the state's best liberos in Freeman, who was named IHSVCA Class 4A All-South District. Look for juniors Ava Robbennolt, Laila Cain and Reese Pendill to figure in the rotation on the back row.

MATCHES THAT MATTER: Aug. 21, Center Grove, Cougars will get an early look at the defending sectional champs. Sept. 12, at Bloomington South, rivalry match always brings out the best in both teams. Sept. 30, at Warrick Invitational, a chance to take on Castle, a perennial sectional champ, always a good test.

Bloomington South

COACH: Melissa Smith. LAST YEAR: 8-17, 3-2 Conference Indiana.

RETURNING STARTER: London Mitchell, S, Sr.

OUTLOOK: It's a rebuilding year and it will be a process without much varsity experience and none of the usual height the Panthers have had over the years. It should help that the lone starter back is one of the two setters the Panthers employed last year, so Mitchell's leadership will be essential. Seniors filled the starting spots on opening night with Ana Crowley, Ellis Clark and Addison Shields the outside hitters and Anson Reynolds at one middle with junior Laurie Brinson at the other. Despite the lack of 6-footers, South will be athletic and still make for a solid block. Sophomore Adriene Shaevitz was a spark off the bench and Lake Butiste, a junior, donned the libero uniform. Senior Madison Kress will see time at DS. Smoothing out the rough spots that a new starting six is going to have, and getting them to gain some confidence and consistency, is one of the early goals.

"The No. 1 thing is chemistry, because that's going to lead to hard work. The only way we're going to compete is if we are aggressive and we attack. So we have to be the team on defense that doesn't let a ball drop. going to have to chance everything down and never say die. because we are going to be undersized."

MATCHES TO WATCH: Aug. 19, at Danville Invitational, Panthers should get a look at some Indianapolis-area competition. Sept. 12, Bloomington North, rivalry should be rowdy again. Sept. 21, at Center Grove, the sectional favorites will be another measuring stick.

Lighthouse Christian

COACH: Brian Brown. LAST YEAR: 12-11 overall, 5-1 Southern Roads Conference.

RETURNING STARTERS: Victoria Mann, Sr. OH; Claire Beretta, Sr. S; Ava Fritz, Jr. L; Emilee Spurlock, Jr. MB; Marissa Webb, Jr. MB; Faith Rasmusen, Sr. DS.

OUTLOOK: Brown and Heidi Winders have taken over for Katie Kauffman, who left after a three-year run that launched the Lions into the IHSAA era. It will be a veteran group that returns most of last year's starting lineup and will look to make a run at a conference title and seek their first sectional win.

MATCHES TO WATCH: Aug. 22, North Central, First match of the season against a potential sectional foe will let Lions know where they are at. Sept. 18-19, vs. White River Valley, at Shakamak, back-to-back SWIAC opponents will give LCA a taste of what the sectional will be like.

2022 rewind: Encore performance: Kaiden Harrington leads H-T All-Area Volleyball Team

Eastern Greene

COACH: Kelsey Frye. LAST YEAR: 15-16 overall, 3-4 SWIAC.

OUTLOOK: Several of the T-Birds' top players were slated to return as seniors, including All-SWIAC picks Keylee Hudson and Mallorie Elliott, and Bailee Tieman and Emma Fleener.

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X (Twitter) @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington-area Indiana high school volleyball preview for 2023