Safety has been a top priority as the Yellow Jackets make sure the protocols for the current pandemic are followed and it may seem the security blanket of having eight seniors graduate with state tournament experience would leave gaps and that isn’t the case as the solid foundation built last year has blossomed within the ranks to give enough power for Moorefield Volleyball to seek a seventh consecutive trip to Charleston.[private]
“We’re trying to figure it out as we go. Masks were forced on us and for anybody to say this isn’t going to be a challenging year, that’s not a fair statement. You’re coming in with six seniors and they’re coming off a fun year last year,” Moorefield Volleyball head coach Morgan Hill See remarked.
“They’re excited and they’re energetic. They’re glad to be doing something to consider it normal. I think for Tresa [Taylor] and I, we are just trying to provide some stability for them as school approaches. Our first game will be coming up on September 10 and we hope we can stay in a green or yellow color, so they can be able to play. Our schedule had to be shut down a fair amount such as the tournaments with the new regulations. The whole atmosphere has changed and it will primarily just be families watching us play, so it will be different for everybody.”
Moorefield Volleyball head coach Morgan See enters her ninth season at the helm and will be joined by assistant coach Tresa Taylor, who has been a statistician for the past six seasons knowing the strategies and positioning to gain the advantage this year.
Morgan Hill See was named the Potomac Valley Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year last season and has been working diligently with this year’s squad to make an impact from day one with the proper discipline and focus required to defend and capture the Region II championship crown.
Moorefield Volleyball will be guided by six seniors who are eager and ready to accept the challenges ahead to bring the Hive back to Charleston: Lauren Arbaugh, Hailey Biser, Remington Hinkle, Tori Humphries, Gracie O’Neill and Alyson Simmons.
The Yellow Jackets have six players returning with experience from the state tournament last season and the supporting cast surrounding them will enable dominating success.
Moorefield seniors Remington Hinkle, Gracie O’Neill and Alyson Simmons had substantial time on the Charleston floor and were joined at the state level by returning sophomores Kaleigh Hunt, Sterling Kump and Marissa Ward.
All of these players have great skill at the net launching attacks and blocking volleys in addition to the setting finesse Simmons.
Biser has been one of the more dynamic players stepping up from her leadership role with the junior varsity squad to become a regular supportive outside hitter and middle blocker last year with the varsity team and showing great resolve and mentoring skill to the underclassmen.
“My goals for this season are to get to the state tournament and bring home state title, I also want to improve every single day and just have fun this year because we don’t know what’s going to happen this year with the guidelines always changing. I want the team to improve as a whole and learn to work and communicate with one another on the court, that’s how we’ll get to state,”Moorefield senior Hailey Biser noted.
“I’m very excited to be playing this season. Especially since some of us didn’t think we would get to play for our senior year, we all share a common goal of getting better everyday and having fun while we’re doing it, there’s no doubt that we can accomplish big things this year. I’m just very grateful to get to play with some of my closest friends for my last season. To me it’s really special to represent the yellow jackets because I love our community and getting to represent such a great school through a game that i’m very passionate about and being able to share the game with the younger kids who look up to me to teach them good moral qualities like teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship.”
Arbaugh is recovering from surgery, but has proven to be a great vocal leader and has been contributing great sets and serves in the practices leading up to the season.
“My goals and expectations for this year are for us to have our full season. Also, as a senior I have a goal to lead and help keep the energy up. Coming off a shoulder injury another goal is to continue my physical therapy and play through the pain,” Moorefield senior Lauren Arbaugh stated.
“The feeling of representing Moorefield is magical. Growing up in a small town really connects you with the fans who support us and pushes you to want to be better. The athletes at Moorefield High School are a different breed. We push harder and want the wins more. The pandemic has changed how things we do things. For example, we cannot give high fives and we have to try and keep the six foot boundaries. I would say the unknowing of if there will be a full season or even practice tomorrow has made us take each minute we have in the gym more serious. We have a good mix of girls this year. This group of girls has a different kind of connection that I’ve never seen before. And I am very excited to see just what happens.”
Humphries is the newest member of the senior squad and already has been fitting into the team with good feedback for her teammates having played with them in softball for many years knowing how they operate in the games will be an advantage. Humphries has a powerful attack and has been controlling her serves.
Hinkle and O’Neill have been explosive in the outside hitting power for the Yellow Jackets creating spikes all over the floor to help tally up points in a heartbeat, while joining the blocking patrol with Simmons when the game plan calls for it.
“My goals for the season are to continue improving myself and my teammates everyday, along with returning to state for the fourth consecutive year,” Moorefield senior Gracie O’Neill said.
“This pandemic has taught me to take everything day by day, and to not take anything for granted.”
Simmons has been a premier setter for Moorefield and having Arbaugh joining the ranks there will open up more possibilities for smashing the ball across the net.
These seniors are creating accurate serves to keep the ball in play and have been equally impressive on the defensive side with digs.
Hunt and Kump have been great assets defensively with good passes and are developing solid serve techniques, while Ward has been delivering strong volleys across the court and has been honing serving accuracy in practice.
Moorefield junior Sara Carlson looks to climb out of the shadow of her older sister who just graduated and has already shown great leaping ability for hits and making sharp serves in addition to agility for defensive plays.
Moorefield sophomores Malena Price and Breanna Green both saw time on the varsity level last season and have proven to be positive assets with quickness on the back row and have good jumping skills for volleys.
Moorefield sophomore Teia Ray will provide a defensive spark and keep teams adjusting with her agility.
The Yellow jackets freshman group were champions at the middle school level and have the potential to make big strides immediately in the high school ranks stepping up to the Hive’s floor: Asilynn Richardson, Jade Cullers, McKenna Crites, Sarah Iman and Amber Williams.
The theme this year is to find the norm and work that into a positive force to champion for victories.
“For most of our games, it will be the parents or guardians watching us. They are just tying to find the norm. You look at the whole situation and think about finding the positive and working on it. We can still make this a great experience and overcome the unknown,” Coach Hill See remarked.
“We have to have masks on for the sidelines and we will not switch sides during the games. Once we are on one side, we are there for the duration. There are no handshakes and no sub in and out touching hands. It has all changed. It is something new for everybody to figure out. We have to see how it works and what change is coming next. The biggest thing is find the positive and overcome that unknown. We are continuing to play to help these girls get better and stronger in each practice. They haven’t played since March, so you factor everything in and keep on going.”
Moorefield Volleyball has its season opener at home against Class AA Keyser tomorrow and that match will be designated as senior night.
Not having tournament play will mean more trimatches and regular matches for the Yellow Jackets.
Moorefield has three of their traditional Class AA opponents on the schedule with Petersburg, Frankfort and Keyser with the remaining foes being in Class A classification.
After facing the Golden Tornado, the Yellow Jackers will greet Petersburg on September 15 in the Hive.
Tucker County and Union will enter their second year on the Potomac Valley Conference volleyball circuit with the Tigers hosting Moorefield and the Mountain Lions on September 17.
The Yellow Jackets will battle cross-county rival East Hardy in Baker on September 22 and at home on October 15.
In October, Moorefield will be playing against two new opponents Notre Dame and Calvary Christian and also has placed Tygarts Valley on the schedule.
Moorefield closes out the regular season at Keyser with Pendleton County.
The Yellow Jackets have the skill and preparedness to embrace and overcome the unknown to paint a clearer picture of success going to Charleston once again.[/private]
“We are doing the best we can to take what we normally spread out the entire season and cram everything together right now, because we don’t know if we will be able to continue. We are trying to make it as fun and memorable as we can, because you just don’t know. The returning girls are excited. They were worried all summer whether or not they would be able to do this and now that they are here on the floor, they are loving every minute of it. This is the most I have seen the older girls really helping the younger girls understand and make the transition. The team bonding has been really good and have been doing so much extra stuff. They’re just having fun with it. We will be able to handle our own this year. You never want to compare one team to another. We have different strengths and weakness compared to last year which we will work on daily. We will take it day by day and hour by hour as things keep changing,” Coach Hill See concluded.
