SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles volleyball team might look a little different this season with a new head coach and varsity lineup, but the structure of what was built in previous years will remain the same. This season, the Eagles are gearing up to remain competitive in the Central Washington B League. 

“The amount of growth that we’ve had already in such a short period of time has been huge,” said Erin Fletcher, the Eagles’ new head coach. “A lot of it carries over from the summer and the work the kids put in during summer ball.” 

Last year, the Eagles concluded the regular season 12-5 and took second place in the District 5 tournament before heading out to state. Despite making a strong effort, the Eagles fell in the first round of the state tournament to Wahkiakum to end their season.

During the offseason, the Eagles graduated eight seniors from the varsity lineup, who had been key contributors in the program’s success throughout their tenure. Soap Lake also lost their longtime head coach, Nikki Noble, as she stepped away from the role to focus on family. 

Fortunately, the Eagles quickly found their new head coach in Fletcher, who was hired early in the summer. Fletcher brings a long history of experience with volleyball, both as a coach and as an official and is ready to continue Soap Lake’s successful tradition with the sport. 

This season, Soap Lake sophomore Marina Zubritzkiy is the only returning player from the varsity lineup. The young player is excited for the opportunity to start this season and step into her role as the team captain. 

“I feel very honored,” said Zubritzkiy. “I definitely changed my attitude and want to step up as a leader. It just feels really great, and I want to keep becoming a team leader and showing these younger girls that volleyball is really fun.” 

She said her goal is to help push this team to make another run in the state tournament this season. The Eagles had already made state appearances for three years in a row, including her eighth grade and freshman seasons, so she wants to see that trend continue into the future alongside her new teammates. 

“I’m so excited to see what we have and excited for this season to see how far we can go,” said Zubritzkiy. 

Fletcher said the greatest area of growth she has seen from her players so far is in their IQ of the game. This growth has been significant for this newer squad as they have been consistently putting in the work both in and out of practice. 

With only one player returning to the lineup with varsity experience, much of the early season training has been focused on the fundamentals of the game, she said. As they look to maintain their identity of scrappy volleyball in Soap Lake, creating a system for the players will be key. 

“That’s really what we’re focusing on,” said Fletcher. “If we’re out of system, what does that look like for us and fundamentally what do we need to do to get better.” 

Much of what the previous seniors and Noble built over the years is planned to be carried over into their style of volleyball, and that includes the team goals. Fletcher said she wants Soap Lake to remain a top three contender in the CWB and head back to state. 

“This team is very young, it’s very scrappy and they want to be here,” she said. “Just trying to keep them hungry, keep them getting after it every single day and keep them motivated.” 

The Eagles open the season with back-to-back games at home, starting against Lake Roosevelt Sept. 8 at 6:15 p.m. and the Warden Cougars Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. 

    Marina Zubritzkiy, a sophomore from the Eagles leaps up to spike the ball over the net at practice.
  

    Soap Lake senior Janessa Knudsen prepares to hit the ball back over the net to her teammates during an early season exercise.
  

    Jade Hart from Soap Lake sets the ball for her teammate to smack over to the other side of the court as the team prepares for the season.
  

    Sanza Gonzalez (pink) leaps up to hit the ball back over the net as her teammate Lily Gonzalez (blue) stands on the other side of the net awaiting her turn to participate in the same exercise.