By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Nobody in the Ozarks had a turnaround quite as impressive as Wheaton last year.
After going just 8-12-4 in 2015, the Lady Bulldogs rebounded in 2016 with a 24-win season which included a Class 1 – District 8 championship, the program’s first since 2007.
Robert Creekmore now enters his third season at the helm and Wheaton will look to build on the success of last year.
“2015 was a year where the girls were trying to learn the system and brand of volleyball I wanted them to play,” said Creekmore. “We spent a lot of time learning defensive positioning, offensive play sets, setter/hitter connection work, and “big picture” volleyball strategies that we really didn’t have much time to get into the specifics of being great.
“Last year we saw the benefits of spending all the time and hard work learning the system the year before. We could spend a lot more time on the little things that take you from good to great. The girls bought in 100% to doing things the right way and that made last year very special for all of us.”
Wheaton loses a talented trio of standouts in Karlee Mason, Adison Goostree and Emily Killion, but Creekmore believes his team can still be competitive by focusing on defense.
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“That group of seniors will be very difficult to replace,” said Creekmore. “They had very good chemistry on the court that developed very quickly in the two years they had in our system. To be honest we are not going to try to replace them, we are going to play a little different style of volleyball this year that highlights our strengths and experience in the outside hitter position and focuses on ball control and frustrating teams with our defense.”
Tori Goostree, Hallie Mitchell, and Rachel Lacey – all juniors – started for Creekmore last year and will be expected to take over the direction of Wheaton Volleyball.
“Tori, Hallie, and Rachel have really stepped up their leadership this summer,” said Creekmore. “We will be moving Hallie to the outside hitter position, and we will utilize Rachel’s speed and agility by moving her to the middle. We will depend on those three for the majority of our offensive production.”
Lacey is still easing back into the swing of things after a knee injury suffered during basketball season. She is expected to be fully cleared by Labor Day.
Competition will be the theme of the early part of Wheaton’s season as several fresh faces will figure into the equation.
In what could be both a gift and a curse, Wheaton doesn’t have a single senior on its roster.
“Sarah Burton, Audrey Shockley, Kaylee Hutsell, Alyia Prewitt, Allie Reed and Emily Gonzalez are some of the newcomers that we are expecting to fill in the gaps at the varsity level,” said Creekmore. “Sarah and Emily are competing for the setting position vacated by Adison Goostree. Allie and Alyia are looking to fill in the middle positions, and Audrey and Kaylee are fighting for the right side/opposite position.
“I’m really excited to see this group develop. Three of these juniors have two years of starting experience and that goes a long way to winning games. I also believe these sophomores have a great group that is ready to contribute.”
Wheaton will open the 2017 season on Aug. 22 vs. Chadwick. The reigning Ozark 7 champs will also be in the Southwest VolleyFest and Ash Grove Tournament.
