Five of Coach Christina Duchene’s volleyball players received conference awards. Coach Duchene shared statistics and her reflections on the season and players.
1st Team All-Conference
Sophie Ridge
Senior, #6, Libero, Captain
Digs – 127, Aces – 31
Sophie is a senior this year and a three-year starter on Varsity. Sophie was one of this year’s team captains. Sophie is a smooth, well controlled and quick-to-the-ball player. Her ball control is amazing, and as libero, she played a very important part of our team. Libero is one of the hardest positions on the team. It is a skilled position, requiring reading the hit and getting in the right position to dig up a hardhit ball. A libero is expected to save the day and get the ball up, even if there is no block from a teammate. Many times, Sophie came up with the dig so we could continue to run our offense. Sophie led the team in digs this year and played a huge part in our serve receive.
Abbigail Curtis
Junior, #1, Defensive Specialist and Outside Hitter, Captain
Kills – 76, Digs – 88, Aces – 30
Abbi played as an outside hitter and a defensive specialist as well. Abbi is very smart, can read the floor and knows exactly where to put the ball. Abbi put in a lot of work, practice, and time in the off season to reach her level of play. Abbi had the second highest kills and digs for our team. She was the highest in aces this year as well. Abbi was one of the captains and helped tremendously on defense. Abbi also is a huge part of our serve receive. She helps the team move to a faster tempo during offense with her amazing ball control.
Heidi Sheen
Junior, #8, Middle
Kills – 96, Blocks – 35
Heidi started for us as a middle. She is a powerhouse! Heidi quickly learned different routes and soon was a force on the floor. She learned quickly to slice right and left of the block and push deep corners where the defense wasn’t. She led our team in kills and blocks this year. It was so fun to see Heidi grow and become one of the best middles in our league. Heidi is always wanting more knowledge about getting better. She is very coachable, and listens well.
All Conference Honorable Mention
Paige Outman
Junior, #4, Setter
Assists – 395, Aces – 30
Paige moved up to varsity at the end of her sophomore year and continued her varsity career starting as our setter. Paige did an amazing job for us this year. She worked endlessly with our hitters, memorizing each route that our hitters run. No matter how much Paige heard, “I need it higher” or “I need it lower,” she kept working. Paige battled to get each set as perfect as she could for her hitters. Being a setter is one of the hardest jobs on a team. A setter is mentally tough, runs after bad passes, and make miracles happen for the offense. Paige is very coachable, wants to learn, is a competitor, and gives 100 percent on the floor all the time. Her defense improved so much this year.
Allie Walther
Senior, #2, Outside Hitter
Kills – 52, Blocks – 17
Allie Walther came back to Volleyball this year and started as a right side hitter, then with no hesitation she became our outside hitter. Allie brought strength to our team and a dedication to get better. All the girls told me what an amazing basketball player Allie is, and I was so pleased to see her become that athlete in volleyball as well. Allie has an amazing attitude on the floor and is very coachable. Allie had some huge hits for us this year against Constantine and during districts against K-Christian. Allie not only wanted to get better for herself, but she also wanted to get better for the team. She did just that!