Photo by Andrew Brown ’18 – The volleyball team practices in the gym March 3. With a younger team, Coach Mr. Tony Oldani expects this to be a learning year for the team, with a more athletic roster than in past years.

By Juan Carlos Ramirez ’18
THE ROUNDUP

The volleyball team has a very young roster with only three returning seniors.

Varsity head coach Mr. Tony Oldani said he believes that these more experienced players will contribute to the learning curve.

“Our varsity team is made up of guys who have played club. So they have got a full-year experience since last fall,” Mr. Oldani said. “So we think our learning curve will be quick. We think we will be a more athletic team than we have been in the past, but it’s definitely going to be a learning year for all of us.”

One player who will be heavily relied on is Fred Miller ’16, who is the leader of the team.

“Seniors are going to rely on Fred Miller in the middle,” Mr. Oldani said. “He’s the leader of the team, and he is the emotional guy on the team.”

Miller’s main priority as the leader is to inspire the group and to play as one.

“Part of my job as a captain is getting the team to play as one, stop the team from being raw and become more efficient as players,” Miller said. “When I was a sophomore, I was on varsity. I didn’t play, but I looked to my captains … who really demonstrated leadership and a love for the game.”

“My goal is to be for these sophomores what they were to me, and to help strengthen their passion for this sport,” he added.

Mr. Andrew Schmidbauer ’88, assistant varsity coach, pointed out that they are expecting a lot from the underclassmen.

“To be honest the guys that were on JV and the guys who didn’t play much on varsity last year, we are looking for a lot from them,” Mr. Schmidbauer said.

Mr. Oldani said he has high expectation from the rising sophomores Nate Thompson ’18 and Connor Dunn ’18.

“We are going to count on a lot of sophomores between Nate Thompson who is going to become the No. 1 outside hitter for us, and then really the guy who runs the whole show will be Connor Dunn ,who will be a sophomore center for us,” Mr. Oldani said.

Another player that Mr. Oldani said will be key is Adam Randolph ’16, who is essential for his passing abilities.

Miller said he knows that Boulder Creek will be the team to beat, but aside from that opponent, he said there will be other competitive teams.

“Perry High School, Hamilton will be good again, Desert Ridge and O’Connor are all really good athletes who I have played with and against in club,” Miller said.