WOODWARD — The Woodward-Granger volleyball team, facing their greatest change 16 years, did not miss a beat, finishing 23-11 overall, 9-1 in WCAC play and reaching the Class 2A Regional Semifinals.
Longtime head coach Meg Jackson resigned in February after 16 years at W-G. Jackson led the program to a 314-156 (.668) overall record and dominance in the WCAC. The Hawks were 69-6 (.92) in nine years in the conference under Jackson, winning five titles and three times placing second.
Enter Bailey Hunt, who took over the program without an assistant and helped guide the Hawks to a WCAC runner-up spot and continued strong play. The Hawks have not lost to a 1A school since 2013. Seven of the 23 Hawk wins this season were from schools in a larger classification.
The team had 810 kills (9.0 per set) with 1,235 digs (13.72 per set). W-G finished the season with 97 total blocks.
Serving was clearly the strong point for the Hawks, as they finished in a three-way tie for second-place in 2A for serve efficiency at .945. W-G was 1,730-of-1,831 behind the line while recording 234 aces, or 2.6 ace serves per set.
Anna Tague’s 217 kills led the team, with Emma Drake having 149 kills and Natalie Weaver 144. Elly Polich tallied 122 kills, Alissa Smeltzer 111 and Katelyn Scharlau 90. Drake had 369 assists and Polich 317, with Scharlau making 30 blocks, Smeltzer 22, Weaver 20, Drake 14 and Polich 13.
Libero player Ashlyn Soelberg paced the Hawks with 387 digs (4.47 per set). Tague had 278 digs and Drake 170, with Katelyn Bandstra recording 149 digs and Polich 127.
Tague finished the season in a three-way tie for sixth place in 2A serve efficiency at .992 after converting 373-of-376 with 42 aces. Drake was 410-429-57 behind the line, with Soelberg 261-269-29, Polich 252-277-40 and Bandstra 173-185-24. Scharlau ended the season serving 156-168-17, Weaver 93-104-11 and Smeltzer 86-99-19.
All-WCAC First Team honors were earned by Drake, Tague and Soelberg, with Polich placed on the Second Team while Scharlau, Smeltzer and Weaver were listed as honorable mention.
The Hawks were 62-29 in total sets played, but the departure of seven seniors will force Hunt and her team to fill in numerous holes next autumn. Briley Bermel, Megan Burkhart, Mya Kasiar, Lisa Pitman, Smeltzer, Soelberg and Tague all played their final prep volleyball this season.
