Lady Bulldogs Volleyball Squad Trying to Break 12-Win Barrier

After several seasons of finishing in last place in the GAC girls volleyball standings, the Bulldogs made some strides in 2010, finishing the year with a 12-17 record, and tying to fifth in the conference rankings.

Some might see the losing record and think Zumwalt South had another disappointing season.

And they’d be wrong if they did, because back-to-back 12-win seasons are a huge improvement over the three-win campaigns the Bulldogs had in 2007 and 2008.

“We’re getting there,” South High head coach Mark Whitmore said. “We were kinda streaky, and we lost a lot of close matches. But we’re another year older, another year smarter, and we’ll be more aggressive, and hopefully win a little more this year.”

Leading the Bulldogs on the court this season will be First-Team All-GAC North outside hitter Lauren Rodewald. A 6-foot senior, Rodewald led the Lady Bulldogs and ranked sixth in the conference with 177 kills last year.

“She’s aggressive,” Whitmore said. “She really goes after it, and we’re going to be counting on her a lot this year.”

Whitmore hasn’t named a full starting lineup just yet, but he did mention seniors Alli Moran, Amanda George, and Jenn Cartee as candidates to join Rodewald on the frontline for South High this year.

On the backline, the Lady Bulldogs bring back talented defensive specialist Hannah Pech, who ranked second on the team with 224 digs. She led the squad in serve receipts, and serve percentage.

“I think she might be the best libero in the conference,” Whitmore said. “She does a wonderful job on defense.”

Players that could potentially join Pech on Zumwalt South's backline are her sister Sarah Pech, and junior varsity call-ups Alexis Holman and Kayla Allen.

One spot that’s still a question mark for the Bulldogs, heading into the season, is the setter position. Paige Spillman, who graduated in 2010, earned all-conference honors last year, after finishing second in the GAC North in assists.

This year, a number of players are vying for the job, including returning junior Morgan Laffleur, freshman Julia Garza, or possibly either one of the Pech sisters.   

“We’ve got to do better with our consistency,” Whitmore said. “At times, we’ve struggled staying consistent. We’ll play great in one or two matches, then the next two or three we wouldn’t play well at all.

“Then we’ll play decent, and then play bad again. We’re never going to win consistently if we keep playing like that. Hopefully, we’ll do a better job of that this season.”

South High will officially begin its 2011 season Tuesday, August 30, when the Bulldogs will host a series of matches against Wentzville Holt High.

The JV and freshman teams will play Holt that evening as well, with the varsity match slated to begin at 5 p.m.