{"id":106972,"date":"2018-09-12T06:32:47","date_gmt":"2018-09-12T11:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=106972"},"modified":"2018-09-12T06:32:47","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T11:32:47","slug":"coaches-corner-vw-county-volleyball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2018\/09\/12\/coaches-corner-vw-county-volleyball\/","title":{"rendered":"Coaches Corner: VW County volleyball"},"content":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n

One of our more popular features \u2013 Coaches Corner \u2013 is back for the fall sports season. This week\u2019s featured coaches are Van Wert volleyball coach Jeff Marbaugh, Lincolnview volleyball coach JaNahn Evans and Crestview volleyball coach Tammy Gregory.<\/p>\n

Jeff Marbaugh<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Lady Cougars opened the season with seven consecutive wins before Monday\u2019s loss to Coldwater, the state\u2019s No. 1 team in Division III.<\/p>\n

The 7-1 (2-0 WBL) start marks includes victories over two state ranked teams (Ottoville and Delphos St. John\u2019s, No. 5 and No. 18 in Division IV), and it\u2019s quite a turnaround from last year when Van Wert finished the season 4-19.<\/p>\n

Head coach Jeff Marbaugh believes there are several reasons for the team\u2019s marked improvement.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jeff Marbaugh<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe have handled the ball more consistently,\u201d Marbaugh said. \u201cOur defense is getting more balls up, and hitting has been more aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marbaugh also noted that a number of the Lady Cougars are providing solid contributions so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a total team effort so far, from serving to serve receiving, defense, setting and hitting, everyone on match night has contributed in a positive way,\u201d Marbaugh explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cNoelle Heffner leads the team in aces, Adrianna Grothause in digs, Jamison Clouse in kills and Katie Coplin in assists,\u201d the coach added.<\/p>\n

Van Wert returns to Western Buckeye League action at home against Ottawa-Glandorf on Thursday, then will host Wayne Trace on Monday.<\/p>\n

JaNahn Evans<\/strong><\/p>\n

After losing the season opener to Van Wert, the Lady Lancers (5-2) reeled off five consecutive wins before falling to New Bremen (No. 2 in Division IV) on Tuesday night. Two of those wins have come against state ranked Division IV teams \u2013 Ottovillle (No. 5) and Antwerp (No. 13).<\/p>\n

\"\"
JaNahn Evans<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Head coach JaNahn Evans is pleased with how things have gone so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t let our highs get too high or our lows too low,\u201d Evans explained. \u201cWe battle back when are down and that’s something we didn’t do last year. I feel like we play very well as a team. We all have a common goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that first game, we learned a lot about ourselves as a team,\u201d Evans added. \u201cThey have really worked hard and are continuing to work hard to accomplish their goals. This is such a fun team to coach \u2013 they really play well together and get along on and off the court. Our team chemistry is very strong and that’s a huge factor in any team\u2019s success.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Lincolnview\u2019s early success can be termed as a total team effort, Evans said three players have emerged as leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenior Lakin Brant has stepped forward and led the team,\u201d Evans explained. \u201cShe is a vocal asset on and off the court and in time outs. I can only say so much to them but she’s there in the trenches and can give that invaluable point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKerstin Davis is another leader. As our junior defensive specialist, she is right behind Lakin in defense and leadership. They are the driving forces on the court. We look to them for running the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sophomore Brianna Ebel is a player that you want on your team,\u201d Evans added. \u201cBeing a setter, she runs our offense and does a great job making great decisions. Her work ethic, court smarts, competitive drive, and positive attitude makes her the leader she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sophomore Madison Williams and freshman Kendall Bollenbacher have made positive contributions as well.<\/p>\n

The Lady Lancers will open Northwest Conference play at home against Spencerville on Thursday, then will travel to Shawnee on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Tammy Gregory <\/strong><\/p>\n

Crestview (3-3, 0-1 NWC) is in the midst of a busy week, with four games in just six days.<\/p>\n

Head coach Tammy Gregory has noticed some positives, but is looking for improvement each match.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Tammy Gregory<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI really feel we have stepped up our defense and getting the ball up to run a solid offense,\u201d head coach Tammy Gregory said. \u201cThe key for us this week will be consistency. So far this season, we have allowed teams to go on runs against us and against any opponent this builds their confidence and gives them the momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel with more varsity experience, the girls will get better with this and focus more about being aggressive with every ball and better every ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory also singled out several players for their contributions this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Libero, Bailey Gregory, has really done a nice job for us filling this position and loves the challenge,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cHer teammates are really counting on her getting that perfect pass to the setter and making some great defensive plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso on the defensive side of things Lexi Gregory and Lauryn Black are the two others that the team puts their confidence in These two girls play outside hitter for us and they are in the mix on about every play whether it be serve receive, digging or attacking the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese three girls mentioned are key components in every area and leaders in areas of serve receive, serving, digs, and attacking which they do while playing both front row and back row.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are really working with Maddy Lamb and Avery McCoy on making the right decisions of who to be setting when and where they need the ball,\u201d Gregory continued. \u201c I have confidence that they will continue to grow in this area and take control of our offense. Not only is Avery setting for us this year, but also a key hitter for the Knights coming out of the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKaylee Wolford, Kimber Adams, and Laney Jones have been put in hitting roles for us this year. These first year letter winners have quickly figured out how much faster paced it is at the varsity level.\u201d<\/p>\n

After playing Parkway on Monday and Columbus Grove last night, the Lady Knights will host Bluffton on Thursday and travel to state-ranked Antwerp on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor One of our more popular features \u2013 Coaches Corner \u2013 is back for the fall sports season. This week\u2019s featured coaches are Van Wert volleyball coach Jeff Marbaugh, Lincolnview volleyball coach JaNahn Evans and Crestview volleyball coach Tammy Gregory. Jeff Marbaugh The Lady Cougars opened the season with seven consecutive wins […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 14:16:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106972\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}