Published: August 20, 2008 01:24 am         

Strong debut

New-look Berries sweep Mavericks in volleyball

The Logansport volleyball program is going through a youth movement of sorts in 2008.

The Berries have just one senior on the roster while two freshmen and a sophomore got starting nods in the season opener against McCutcheon Tuesday night at the Berry Bowl.

The initial results were positive as the Lady Berries recorded a nice comeback in the second game en route to sweeping the Mavericks, 25-22, 26-24, 25-19.

Freshman Katie Champion had a solid varsity debut with eight kills, two blocks, three digs, three aces and three assists. Junior Jasmine Penny, a standout basketball player, is out for the volleyball team this fall and recorded five kills in her varsity debut.

Logan also got good contributions from its veterans with senior Brooke Waddups registering eight digs and two aces, junior Kian Rombold collecting five kills, four digs and two aces and junior Kelsey Victor contributing seven kills and three aces.

Logan coach Jamee Jones said it was a good win, but all-in-all her young squad came out with “a lot of jitters.”

“There’s nothing you can say to them before their first varsity game, so you just tell them to hit away, just swing away and then let them do their thing,” Jones said. “I just told them point-for-point you’re going to be better than them, so just get your serves in. It came down to serving tonight for us.”

Logansport controlled most of the first and third games but had to rally in the second. The serving of Victor and Champion helped Logan turn a 21-15 deficit into a 24-23 lead. Rombold recorded three of her four kills at the end of the second game to lift Logan to the 26-24 win.

Jones was happy with Rombold’s play the entire match.

“Rombold was all over the court picking up everything,” she said. “She just does a fabulous job. She’s our Miss Versatility. She can play any position on the court.”

McCutcheon has a younger squad than Logansport, as the Mavericks have no seniors on the roster.

“We have one player who’s back playing in the position she played last year,” Mavs coach Beth Crum said, “so it’s just a little bit of early-season jitters and trying to get our feet under us. So we’ll be all right.”

The lone senior on the Berries’ squad, Waddups, the team’s libero, is a de facto coach on the court for the otherwise young team.

“I try to make sure everybody’s doing what they’re supposed to, where they’re supposed to be,” she said. “I try to keep everything positive and make sure everything goes well.”

Waddups added she’s confident in the team’s ability.

“It’s going to be a good year,” she said. “It’s my last year. I’d like to take home sectional and finish well in conference this year.”

Beau Wicker can be contacted at (574) 732-5113 or via e-mail at beau.wicker@pharostribune.com