MOUNT VERNON — Utica volleyball will again have a senior-laden roster this fall, and the veterans were already leaning on their experience and chemistry to carry them through a difficult spot on June 29.
Utica scored the final four points of a set with Centerburg, winning 25-22 during the final night of summer league play at Mount Vernon.
“It just allows us to reset, find our own ground and fight back without giving us time to find ourselves through the coaching and the timeouts,” said Penelope Karas, one of 10 seniors in the program. “We are so close, and we have such a good bond. With that connection, I think we are going to be really good this year.”
Utica had a couple of hiccups down the stretch of a set against Centerburg. It normally would have been a time when coach Lisa Ritzer would have considered using a timeout, but the regular season is still nearly two months away.
“That’s what you use summer for – to let them figure it out, so when it comes to crunch time in a game, you don’t have to always call that timeout,” Ritzer said. “They have to figure it out at some point because at the end of the day, it’s six of them on the court, and they have to do it together.”
Utica graduated six seniors after finishing 19-5 last season and falling in a Division V district semifinal to Johnstown. The job this summer is to fill holes.
Senior Macie Ellis and sophomore Chloe Wilson, who was out of state June 29 while playing in a club tournament, are expected to set after the graduation of Leigha Burnett. Seniors Jessi Paxton, Reagan Farrell and Megan Hartley and junior Baileigh Yates were rotating into the back row as Utica lost three from there, including libero Madison Yates.
Utica, also playing host Mount Vernon, Fredericktown and Highland, showed versatility at the net with literal twin towers of seniors Emily Ritzer and Allison Ritzer and Karas and Katie Kidd. Karas added that she is helping juniors Aniston Pryor and Eva Jackson get up to speed.
“Both of the new middles are stepping up,” Karas said. “They are really putting in the work and adjusting to the varsity tempo.”
Utica again should be a contender in what is expected to be a loaded Licking County League-Cardinal Division, and the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s recent release of fall classifications drew attention. Two of the four district finalists in Division V, Johnstown and Fairbanks, have changed divisions.
The postseason is a long way off, but Utica is using the summer to accelerate its pace.
“At our practices, we have relied on the ones that we have back to try to push forward the ones that didn’t practice with us 100% of the time last year,” Lisa Ritzer said. “We are trying to use them to elevate those skill sets. We don’t slow down practice for them. They have to catch up, so it’s just utilizing what time we do have and the experience that we have back.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Summer showing promise of strong Utica volleyball season
Reporting by Kurt Snyder, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kurt Snyder, Newark Advocate | USA TODAY Network
