Millbrook volleyball
Setter Emily Bower is one of seven returning players to the Millbrook volleyball team this fall.
MHS volleyball seeks first postseason since 2002
Asked how the Millbrook volleyball program might do this season last week, head coach Chris Grimes couldn't help but tilt his head and look over his shoulder at the Cap-7 Conference banners hanging in the Wildcats' gymnasium.
With Broughton, Enloe, Wakefield and WF-R pennants staring back — all formidable opponents — and Leesville Road and Sanderson likely to see improvement under first-year coaches, Grimes didn't sugarcoat his prediction.
"The goal is to make the playoffs," he said. "Do I think we can be higher than fourth? It is going to be hard. But our goal is still to make the playoffs."
It's not to say the Wildcats won't be a vastly improved squad this fall, just a year removed from a five-win season. But even a great performance could still have Millbrook fighting for a postseason bid.
That's just how competitive the league schedule will be. (The top four squads receive automatic spots in the playoffs — although the fifth- and sixth-best teams in the Cap-7 are usually stronger than other league's third and fourth teams.)
"This is one of the tougher volleyball conferences in the state," Grimes said. "You have a lot of girls heading off to play in college, so you know they're good. "There is no day off in our conference."
While their opponents' rosters might be loaded with talent, the Wildcats return some of their own, including Emily Bower, Caitlyn Shaw and Lauren Brand.
Bower, entering her third year on varsity, is the squad's setter and most experienced player.
"She is the captain and a leader by example for us," Grimes said.
Shaw and Brand, both outsider hitters, are expected to play big roles this season as well.
Grimes called Brand, a junior, the squad's "all-around best player."
And Shaw hits with a lot of power, and throws people off because she's left-handed, the coach added.
The Wildcats also predict great success from Awele Nwaeze, a middle blocker, just starting to reach her potential.
"She just began learning the game in the last 18 months, and her growth has been phenomenal," Grimes said. "We just hope she can sure up our defense and get more blocks than last year."
A marvelous athlete, Nwaeze has "the highest vertical of a female I've ever coached," Grimes said. Bower compared Nwaeze's hops to a jackrabbit.
Another positive sign the Wildcats could be on the upswing is that Nwaeze put together an outstanding conference tournament, ending 2008 on a high note.
In all, the Wildcats return several players from last year, including five starters.
"Another good thing for us was that our jayvee team was successful last year, and those girls that have moved up," Grimes said. "We have been able to establish depth this year that we didn't have last year."
With more experience, more depth and more potential, the Wildcats deserve postseason consideration.
Millbrook starts its season visiting Knightdale Monday, Aug. 17, at 6 p.m.
