Team chemistry key for Eagles

Friday, August 17, 2007
South Putnam's Oceaia Boetjer returns a ball at a recent practice as teammate Shelby Johnston looks on.

For the South Putnam Eagles, player relationships will be key to having a successful season.

"I think it's (the season) shaping up pretty good," head coach Jill Newton said. "We seem to have really good chemistry within the team and I think that will help us be successful."

Fundamentals are the key to any sport, but Newton thinks it comes down to passing for the Eagles.

"I think passing is always going to be one of the things that we need to consistently practice on. And I think one thing that will help us is my setters and hitters have been communicating really well together," Newton commented. "That's one thing I want to continue, but they've been doing a really good job of that."

As with every team, the Eagles have had to modify its lineup and move people, but Newton believes the players will thrive in their new positions.

"We've had to move some people into some different positions," Newton said. "We lost our setter from last year and our middle hitter, so we've had to adjust somewhat to that. We also have three seniors with really good leadership, but I think our team is a young team."

The seniors Newton is referring to are Shelby Johnston, Liz Mink and Sam Stanifer.

"Shelby is looking really good, Liz is looking good and Oceaia Boetjer is looking good hitting the ball," Newton said. "Sam is my setter and she's like the go-to person up front to control the team and set the tempo.

"In years past, we've had maybe one person that was our go-to person, because we didn't have a lot of depth. I think this year I'm seeing a lot of depth across the board," added Newton.

When her squad takes the court, Newton hopes other teams sees multiple threats in all positions.

"I hope they see we have some hitters and that it's not just one person that's our go-to person, that we have some strong people on the front row," Newton said.

South volleyball results

South volleyball opens with loss

The South Putnam volleyball team opened its season with a loss to West Vigo Wednesday night in four games, 25-13, 20-25, 23-25 and 26-28.

South's seniors led the way for the Eagles.

Shelby Johnston led the Eagles with 15 points, six aces, six kills and nine blocks. Liz Mink had 11 points, four aces, six kills and four blocks, while Sam Stanifer nine points, four aces, five kills and 11 assists.

Oceaia Boetjer added eight points, one ace, two kills and four blocks, as Kaleigh Mill had four points and five assists. Katelyn Sibbitt had six points, one ace and two digs , Brittany Burdge has two kills and three blocks and Abbie Trauner had one kill and one block.

"I thought the girls overall played well tonight," coach Jill Newton said. "We need to work on serving and playing more consistent.

"We missed several serves at crucial moments of the match and that really hurt us."

The Eagles will also host the Eagle Invitational Saturday at 9 a.m.

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