Looking for More in the New Year: Most Improved Teams

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the calendar flips to 2023 teams and players start writing their goals and resolutions for the year. Here is a look at some teams who showed tremendous growth and are aiming high for 2023!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Crete:</strong> The Cardinals went from 8-24 in the 2021 to 17-19 in the 2022 season and a District Final Berth. This team showed so much improvement from last year and even from the beginning of the season to the loss to powerhouse Skutt in the District Finals in October. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5'10” Sophomore outside hitter Sierra Crist was an absolute beast this year and had a stellar breakout season. Not only could she hammer the ball from the pin, but could hit a shot from the back row to send defenses scrambling.Crist hammered 420 kills which was nearly triple her amount her freshman year. She chipped in 42 ace serves and had 264 digs for the Cardinals. Crist is so strong and athletic at the pin position! She was a huge part of the turnaround for the Cardinals.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6'1” Junior Middle [player_tooltip player_id='256647' first='Marin' last='Rasgorshek'] also had a huge year as well. A fantastic basketball player as well, Marin averages 12.3 points per game and 9.8 rebounds. She hit .282 in her junior campaign with 259 kills. She runs the slide really well!&nbsp; She has a huge presence at the net with her long levers and had 54 total blocks.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5'7” Junior setter Reagan Bessler distributed the ball well to her big hitters. She also made smart choices when to set Crist in the back row. She is also an offensive threat with a dump to tight zone two or a shot to the deep corners. Bessler had 773 set assists, 36 ace serves and an impressive 52 kills running the 5-1 offense for the Cardinals. This core group is back for the 2023 season and sprinkle in some new young talent. It should be a great year for the Cardinals! Hard work, weight room and club season will be key for the Cardinals in the coming months.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hastings:</strong> Even though their record did not show as much growth, their floor defense spoke volumes! The Tigers overall were a much shorter team in height compared to their opponents, but had great floor defense to make up for the lack of size.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The leader was Junior libero [player_tooltip player_id='172607' first='Lainey' last='Benson'] who had 509 digs, but Junior Carlie Beckby who had 349 digs and 288 kills for the Tigers was the offensive leader. Beckby does a great job transitioning from either pin and is disciplined by playing defense first. If the Tigers can find some more firepower at the net to go with their great backrow play, look for them to be much improved going forward!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Shelby Rising-City: </strong>The Huskies were 11-19 during the 2021 season, but almost flip-flopped their record to 21-10. Led by 5'7'' junior Ava Larmon who hammered 308 kills and had 47 ace serves. Larmon is so powerful and explosive on the pin! She also brings a ton of energy to the floor. Look for her to be a big senior leader in the offseason and into the fall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5'4” Sophomore Taya Pinneo led the team in set assists with 685. Taya does a good job of playing defense first before releasing and picks up a lot of balls. She also is an offensive weapon in the front row with a great over the back dump! Look for the Huskies to make some noise in the always tough and competitive Crossroads Conference.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is always fun to make goals and see hard work paying off as teams reach those goals. Keep these teams and players on your radar as club season and the off season is upon us. Champions in November are made in the offseason!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->