By Chris Parker
Forsyth volleyball had a young team last season featuring just one senior that played on varsity. The Lady Panthers won five matches, but learned many lessons that should pay off in the form of more wins this season.
“Overall, they learned the level of play and what it takes to be competitive at the varsity level,” Forsyth head coach Melissa Ellison said. “They improved so much from the beginning of the season to the end. They had a tough schedule that pushed them and had several close battles with solid teams. Some of those games ended in tough losses due to unforced errors in key moments of the game. Almost all of our starters are all returning and we are hoping to build on the experience and improve on the things that cost us games last year.”
Seven varsity players return from that team.
Gabrielle Thompson is the lone returning all-conference player. She was named honorable mention all-conference and first-team all-district. Thompson led the team in kills with 214.
“Gabby is a talented athlete. She has a great vertical and can consistently hit over and around blocks. She also has great court awareness and vision, and is able to find the holes and put the ball down on broken plays. She is very versatile and can play any position on the front row effectively,” Ellison said. “Gabby will be a great leader for our team and will be one of our go-to hitters. We will rely on her both offensively and defensively. This summer, we were impressed with all the work she put in and I have no doubt she will have a standout season as a six-rotation player and will play a big role in our team’s success.”
Lauren Turner was second on the team in kills with 193 while leading in digs with 259. She will be an outside hitter in her senior season.
“Lauren is another go-to player and leader that we will rely on,” Ellison said. “She earned honorable mention all-district last year. She’s a talented multi-sport athlete, and a solid six-rotation player. She can put the ball down and makes great defensive plays as well. She’s smart with good volleyball knowledge and court awareness. Lauren will move into the role of setting and playing outside this season. She continues to work hard and focus on consistency and will also play a huge role in our team’s success. She has the potential to also have a standout season.”
Josy Graham (senior libero) had 409 receptions to lead the team with 249 digs as a junior.
“Josy improved so much in the libero role last season,” Ellison said. “She also earned honorable mention all-district. She’s comfortable playing libero and helped make our offense successful, having her leading our team in serve receptions last year. She also had several great digs against other teams’ big hitters. I’m excited to see her continue to work hard this season and push herself trying to get a hand on everything.”
Chelsey Adams returns for her junior year as a opposite and middle.
“Chelsey has worked hard this summer and has gotten stronger and more athletic,” Ellison said. “She’s become more comfortable and confident playing right side and continues to improve. It’s been exciting to see her swinging hard and putting up a big block during summer league. She has the potential to do some great things on offense for us, and I hope she really steps up this season.”
Khloe Cook (junior DS/OH) will have more of a defensive focus this season.
“Khloe will focus on being a defensive specialist or sharing the libero role this season,” Ellison said. “She is a vocal leader and is very scrappy on defense. She’s gotten better at reading hitters and made some great defensive plays during summer league. We hope to see her continue to push herself and be a playmaker doing exciting things on defense this season.”
Maci Moore (sophomore MH) had a strong freshman campaign on varsity.
“Maci was the player that probably improved the most last year,” Ellison said. “She came in as a freshman and was given a big role playing middle at the varsity level. She really stepped up and did a great job. It’s been fun to see her showing up to everything this summer, putting in the work in the weight room and open gyms. She’s gotten a lot stronger, is very motivated, and we’re excited for her to have a great season.”
Alex Lawrence (senior opposite) missed much of last season due to injury.
“Alex’s season was cut short last year due to an injury,” Ellison said. “This summer she showed up to everything and put in the work. She’s done a great job swinging on the right side. She’s been fun to watch and will add another offensive layer to our team’s success.”
Freshman Gianni Oldham (OH/S) will look to make an immediate varsity impact.
“It has been fun to watch Gianni play at open gyms and league games this summer,” Ellison said. “She’s a talented multi-sport athlete and will make an immediate impact for our team. She will take on the role of setting and playing outside. She has good hands, and puts up a strong attack. She continues to focus on consistency and adjusting to playing at the varsity level and has the potential to really shine this season. She continues to improve and becomes more confident each game she plays in. We’re excited to watch her grow this season.”
Juniors Riley Holmberg (S/DS) and Lauren Stauffer (OH) are in the mix for varsity playing time.
“Riley Holmberg and Lauren Stauffer will be working hard and competing to earn varsity playing time this season as well,” Ellison said. “Both of these girls are great teammates, have good attitudes, and want to be on the court, and have shown steady improvement.”
Ellison wants to see her team be better in the close games.
“Last season was a bit frustrating for both the girls and coaches,” Ellison said. “They had several close games that didn’t end the way we wanted. There were so many exciting close games, and we just couldn’t pull out the wins. There is talent on this team, the girls want to win, have more varsity experience, and if they push themselves and put all the pieces together, they can have a fun, successful season.”
Forsyth opens the season on Aug. 30 at the Branson Invitational.
“(We expect) to be competitive and continue to improve, and not beat ourselves due to inconsistency or costly mistakes when the game is on the line in a close battle,” Ellison said. “There’s lots of athleticism and potential on this team.”
