Fall sports: Warriors bring experience back to the court in 2011

Don?t look for too much to change for Van Buren volleyball in 2011.

The Warriors didn?t graduate a single player from last year?s 9-18 campaign, and as head coach Bonnie Watson settles into her third year at the helm, she provides that much more continuity.

?The girls are all very comfortable with what we?re doing, and that just helps the speed at which we can practice. We?ve been going through things pretty fast,? Watson said.

But even with the experience, Van Buren is still a relatively young team with one senior compared to 11 freshmen on the roster. Makenzie Zeitler is the lone senior and will carry a lot of weight and be looked at for production as well as leadership with a full roster of underclassmen behind her.

?We?ll definitely need them to be leaders ? it will help to bring the freshmen along ? and we?ll also need them to hit,? said Watson.

Zeitler will make up part of a tall front line along with juniors Hanna Haynes, Payten Hughes and Marissa Greenfield. Zeitler, and especially the 6-foot tall Haynes, came into their own a season ago both on the volleyball and basketball courts. They led the team with 92 and 93 kills, respectively, and will be looked at once again for offense as well as defense.

?It?s a pretty tall front line so we?ll also be looking for blocking and a lot of the communication will run through them,? Watson said.

Payten Hughes also bring some size to the net and a strong serve to the back row.

Marissa Greenfield will also see an uptick in responsibility as a right-side hitter while juniors Meredith Miller and Sarah Wells and sophomore Lydia Heald will fill in the holes elsewhere on the court.

One more reason to believe Van Buren will be able to make a little more noise in 2011 is the return of setter Jordan Billups. Now a junior, Billups has a full year of being the go-to setter under her belt, which she turned into 249 assists last fall ?tops on the team by a wide margin.

Billups will have the responsibility to once again spread the ball around on offense as Zeitler, Haynes and Greenfield wait at the net.

?We?ve been going strong in practice, and the attitudes have been great so far,? Watson added. ?That group of upperclassmen is wanting more, expecting more. Now it?s time to get the whole team together.?

Van Buren began the season Monday at the WACO tournament, but have another week before its next match ? the conference opener Sept. 1 at home against south division rival New London.