Lewis Central Volleyball 2020: Player Evaluations!

Lewis Central head coach, Mike Bond, will be losing 7 seniors and will have 4 returning juniors, 2 sophomores, and 1 freshman left from this killer squad from 2019. Their record was 28-7-0. He is losing two OHs, his setter, his libero, a right, and two middles to graduation this spring. This leaves a lot of really big shoes to fill come August. Let’s take a look at what he will be working with once sports start again in Iowa. Graduating Seniors of 2020: [player_tooltip player_id="40908" first="Megan" last="Witte"] (OH) [player_tooltip player_id="40908" first="Megan" last="Witte"] is a dreamy outside and 6-rotation player. She had 5.49 KPS, .827 serve efficiency with 27 aces, 3.21 DPS, and 42 total blocks. Pure athleticism and talent are what UNI will get from this commit in the fall of 2020. Megan played in all 91 sets that the Titans played last fall and will be very difficult, if not impossible, to replace. [caption id="attachment_85586" align="alignleft" width="150"] Rachel Cushing, class of 2020, graduating senior.[/caption] Rachel Cushing (L/DS) Rachel has committed to play for the College of Saint Mary Flames in the fall of 2020 and is a Marie Curie Scholarship recipient. That means she is really smart and athletic. A driven libero for Lewis Central she also played in all 91 sets played by the Titans in 2019. Rachel had .983 serve efficiency with 19 aces and 4.63 DPS and is another player who will be missed by her coach and teammates next fall. Presley Rodenburg (Right) Presley is a right-side hitter for Lewis Central and played in all 91 sets in 2019. She had 64 kills, .937 serve efficiency with 30 aces, and 31 total blocks. She is another player that has been vital to the success of the offense at Lewis Central and will also be difficult to replace. [caption id="attachment_85585" align="alignleft" width="150"] [player_tooltip player_id="78451" first="Delaney" last="Esterling"], graduating senior from Lewis Central in 2020.[/caption] [player_tooltip player_id="78451" first="Delaney" last="Esterling"] Delaney is the second starting OH from Lewis Central graduating in 2020. She had 3.19 KPS, .861 serve efficiency with 64 aces, and 27 total blocks. She also played in all 91 sets in 2019 for the Titans and is committed to Iowa Western Community College for the 2020 season. Natalie Driver (Setter) Natalie had .949 serve efficiency with 39 aces, 6.49 APS, 1.8 DPS, and 7 blocks in her senior season for the Titans. She set the pace of her team’s offense and fed those two incredibly strong outside hitters. It will be difficult to replace her in the 2020 season. Lauren Payne (Middle) Lauren played in 81 of 91 sets for the Titans in 2019 and had the second-highest blocks with 55. Savannah Fisher (Middle) Savannah played 14 sets for the Titans and had 4 total blocks. Remaining Varsity players from the 2019 season: [caption id="attachment_77929" align="alignleft" width="150"] Grace Ruzicka, class of 2021 from Lewis Central.[/caption] Grace Ruzicka (2021, Right) Grace played in 12 sets last year but will be counted on to step up next year and show what she can do. I watched her play with Victory Volleyball Club this winter during the club season and there is definitely more she could do this coming school season now that the opportunity has presented itself. Maddie Bergman (2023, OH/S) Maddie played 49 of 91 sets her freshman season. She had 13 kills and 12 total blocks and will be ready to do more her sophomore season. [caption id="attachment_77932" align="alignleft" width="150"] Macy Mulder, class of 2021 from Lewis Central.[/caption] Macy Mulder (2021, Setter/DS) Macy played in 90 of 91 sets last season and will have to step up her output to fill the void left by the graduating seniors of 2020. I saw her play with her club team this winter and I believe she is up to the challenge.       [caption id="attachment_75892" align="alignleft" width="150"] Mallory Miller class of 2021.[/caption] Mallory Miller (2021, DS) Mallory is a DS who played in 21 sets of 91 last season and is more than ready for her turn to shine in the fall of 2020. Karly Brown (2022, Setter) Karly is a setter and a very good one. She may be counted on to help fill the void left on the varsity squad by Driver. She played in all 91 sets played by the Titans in 2019 and appears to be ready to have a break-out season in the fall of 2020. During her sophomore season, she had the second-highest assists per set with 2.53. She also had 14 total blocks. Madisyn Haverman (2021, Middle/OH) Madi is a middle that has been moving to the outside lately. She played in all 91 sets for the Titans in 2019 and if there is one player on this list that I would pick to do really fantastic things in the 2020 season, it would be Madi. She can make it hurt when she hits from the outside and that may be where the Titans need her next fall. I look forward to watching her play in the coming season and seeing what she can do. She had 1.36 KPS, .924 serve efficiency with 41 aces, a team-high 17 solo blocks and 78 total blocks. She is the player that the coaching staff at LC will be counting on to step it up. Losing half their varsity squad to graduation seems like a lot to replace. The Titans have always had a winning culture and so much depth with their talented student-athletes that I have no worries that they will be able to put a winning team on the court again soon. Good Luck with your season in 2020, Titans!