WAYNE – As fall preseason practices continue for Nebraska athletes, the Wayne High volleyball team will prepare for a handful of matches in late August.
The Blue Devils will return three seniors along with a strong core of juniors and freshman under seventh-year head coach Traci Krusemark. Coach Krusemark said 30 girls are out this year and since June the upperclassmen have helped out.
“The upperclassmen try to teach them a lot of the drills that I would be doing when practice starts,” said Krusemark. “So, by the time we started on Monday lots of them are kind of in the know already about what’s going on.”
The team has been practicing for about four hours each morning this week. Prior to fall practices, athletes played in three team camps while a few coaches came in to host camps over the summer.
Joining Krusemark will again be Dale Hochstein as Blue Devil alum and recent Northeast Community College backrow specialist, Peyton Roach will be an assistant coach as well. Roach is attending Wayne State College for school.
Wayne High finished 19-13 last season after getting swept by a one-loss North Bend Central team in the District Final. Prior to that WHS won three straight games, piling in nine consecutive match wins in the final game of the Mid State Conference Tourney and two Subdistrict contests.
Krusemark added that the coaches have to get to know their team playing on the court as they talk a lot about the pass and serve game.
“I think ball control,” Krusemark added. “You know at the beginning not everybody’s timing is right on the attack and things like that. So, if you can pass well and serve well then you’re off to a good start.”
The Blue Devil volleyball program will take part in a pair of Hall of Fame matches on Thursday, August 16 at Wisner-Pilger. WHS will face Norfolk High and Wynot starting at 6 p.m. playing only two sets each. WHS will also host a Gatorade scrimmage on Friday, August 17 at 5:30 p.m. which will be held prior to the Fall Sports Tailgate that night at 7 p.m.
The regular season will get underway on Thursday, August 23 when Wayne will host Ponca at 7:45 p.m. before competing in an invitational hosted by Pender and Wisner-Pilger on Thursday, August 30 and Saturday, September 1.
