OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies volleyball team is aiming to rebound this season after finishing 2-15 last year and falling out of the district tournament in the first round. 

“I think it was a lot of young people, and it was kind of just something to adjust to,” said Huskies’ senior Abbie Douglas. 

Huskies’ senior Shaylee Freeman said last year was her first year on varsity and she was one of the many new players who were not used to playing with the team. This meant there had to be some more adjustments from the experienced players to get used to everyone’s play style. 

The seniors said their focus will be shifted to trying to learn from the errors made in games rather than letting the mistakes get into their heads. 

“Volleyball is a sport of messing up and learning from it,” said Douglas. “I think that was something that we all learned a lot of last year.” 

As the season begins, Douglas said that the greatest strength for the Huskies is the bonds that they have with one another. The players feel comfortable with one another and are open to talking if anyone needs anything. 

The team is still going to consist of a lot of younger players, but the skills and connections of the players have grown significantly since last season. 

“We do have a young team, but we’re also really solid hitters,” said Freeman. “I’m excited to see how we play on the court this year.” 

Huskies’ head coach Steve Parr said that the team was better than what their record showed last season but will use their previous season as a base point to improve upon. One of the first aspects of training that he has put a focus on is conditioning then working on skill improvement. 

“We’re doing a little bit more time working on specific skills with the girls as opposed to just some team stuff all the time,” he said. 

The Huskies have five seniors on their roster, including Douglas and Freeman, after graduating five last season, which lost them both of their starting outside players. The team returned both middle players, libero, setter, and right-side players. 

The team goal for the Huskies each year is to have fun, and Parr said he wants to ensure the team focuses on that aspect of the game. Second, is to train the players to never quit and keep fighting no matter what. 

“We play in a very tough league with Ellensburg and Selah, that makes things difficult to climb,” said the coach. “Normally, we’re in the middle of the pack and so we’re going to see if we can break into that upper echelon this year.” 

He said the players are working on figuring out what their roles are going to be on the team this year and the team will begin to truly come together in the days leading up to their first game of the season. 

The Huskies have strength in the versatility of the players, as there are multiple members of the team who can play in any position needed, said Parr.  

“This is a pretty high-IQ team, and so they understand the game,” he said. “They can switch things during a match, or we can throw people into different rotations and they know where they’re going and what they’re doing for that.” 

Parr said one of the biggest challenges the Huskies will face this season will be fatigue since they will be playing at high volume starting next week until the end of the season. Despite this, he and senior players Freeman and Douglas agreed that this team has what it takes to make a strong run this season. 

“I feel like all of us have a lot of passion for volleyball, and I think that will really push us to the end,” said Freeman. 

The Huskies’ first game of the season was at home against West Valley over the weekend. Full coverage of the game will be released in the Tuesday edition of the paper. 

    Shaylee Freeman jumps up to hit the ball while Alexa Peterson holds the ball in place with a hook. Freeman said last season was her first year on varsity and has since learned about what she needs to work on to improve her skills.
  

    The Huskies varsity volleyball team gathers around head coach Steve Parr during practice. Parr said the team’s greatest strength is the versatility of each individual player.
  

    Evelyn Prows hits the ball into the air during a warmup at practice. Prows was one of the freshmen on the team last season and is returning as the middle blocker for her sophomore season.
  

    Huskies’ junior Addie Roylance hits the ball during practice. Coach Parr said the two most important aspects of the game he wants his players to remember are to have fun and to never give up.