State Fair shorthanded but confident

State Fair Community College volleyball coach Diane Shipley begins her fifth year at the helm of the Lady Roadrunners facing a difficult task.

They must replace five players from last year’s squad, but have already been hit with injuries at key positions.

Kelsey Allen missed the season-opening tournament at Mineral Area College with an injured ankle, and Morgyn Bergschneider hurt her knee in the final match of the tournament, forcing State Fair to open its home season tonight with a shuffled lineup.

“We have some injury issues right now,” Shipley said. “Kelsey came down on someone’s foot, and Morgyn went for a ball and twisted the wrong way.”

Shipley was forced to move players into unfamiliar positions, a challenge for both the coach and the players.

“Right now, we’re having to move Julie (Ohlms) into setting (after she) had to play middle for us (at the tournament),” Shipley said. “I don’t know that she’s quite ready to do it yet. We may run a 5-1. We may give her a shot and see how she does.”

Despite the early-season injuries, Shipley believes that her team will be successful behind the leadership of sophomore Antonia Jones and captains Staci Waibel and Bergschneider.

“She’s one of those players that when she puts her mind to it, she’ll be amazing,” Shipley said of Jones. “She’s shown that in practice.

She had 10 or better kills over the weekend in every match.”

Four freshmen, Nicole Hopp, Chante Holcombe, Alyssa Blinzler and Ohlms, and a sophomore transfer, Ashlie Mayfield, should add depth to the Lady Roadrunners. Those players will have to learn the system quickly and make an immediate impact.

Shipley was pleased with how the team performed at the net in the tournament last weekend when they went 1-3.

“Nicole (Hopp) had 10 blocks in one match, and that’s a lot of blocks to get in one match,” Shipley said. “We’re blocking better. We had two girls with 10 or more kills this weekend in every match.”

One area in which Shipley would like to see her team improve is communication. Though the team talks well in practice, the players seem to get quiet during matches.

“They get along really well off the court and get along fine on the court, but they’re just really quiet,” Shipley said. “I don’t know if they’re afraid to step on toes since they’re friends. Hopefully, they’ll get over that.”

Tonight’s home opener against 13th-ranked Jefferson College will give the Lady Roadrunners a serious test. Shipley hopes that her team can rise up to the challenge.

“I think if we play how we can, even with injuries, we’ll be fine,” she said. “We’ve just got to get over that little hump of what we need to do.”