Yorktown’s Kendall Murr returns a serve during a 2014 match. Yorktown is back in Class 3A this season.
YORKTOWN – The Yorktown Tigers might be equipped to sit atop Class 3A, but they’re not acting like it. In fact, they’re proceeding as if they’re on the opposite end of the spectrum.
The preseason media poll released Friday pits Yorktown tied at the top of Class 3A after the Tigers spent the past two seasons in Class 4A due to the IHSAA’s tournament success factor. But earlier this week at a preseason practice, coach Stephanie Bloom stopped play several times.
Things like not diving for a reachable ball irk Bloom, and she let the team know. True to her word, she immediately pulled one player from a scrimmage after a ball fell just short.
“We need a push sometimes,” senior Jade York said.
And Bloom is just the one to provide that push.
“I just don’t want them to get comfortable,” Bloom said. “And we have a lot of room to grow.
“I think the other thing is, the longer I coach, the more I’m able to see the personality and the makeup of a team. What I know about this group is they’re going to be at their best when they’re flat-out getting after it. That doesn’t mean it’s always going to look good, but if they can be scrappy and play hard, I’ll put them up against anybody. If they don’t, it’s 50-50, and they need to understand that.”
One of the points Bloom is using to motivate the Tigers is their depth. It’s not as if Yorktown is three deep at every spot, but there’s a lot of flexibility for Bloom to work with, meaning players can seamlessly switch positions.
“We know that we’re really small this year,” senior Kate Avila said, “so we have to pick it up with our intensity and our defense and communication in order to make up for being so small.
“Compared to years past, we’re definitely smaller, so we’re putting more of an emphasis on our defensive play.”
York was the libero two years ago, and a back injury in the preseason last year meant the Ball State-bound Avila slid over into that spot last season. Both are vying for time there this season. Bella Rosenthall and Brooke Wilson will also be counted on in the back row.
Rhyen Neal, Kendall Murr and Olivia Reed give the Tigers, who went 30-7 and won a sectional last season, experience on the front line. The top two attackers from that team, Karli Acree and Carson Malapit, both graduated.
“We’re just going to have to spread our offense a lot more,” setter Mimi Arrington said. “We’re not going to have one main, big hitter. Everyone is going to have to contribute.”
The pieces are in place for another deep postseason run, like when the Tigers made it to the state final in 2012 – the last time they were in Class 3A.
“I’m a competitor and I’m intense,” Bloom said, “and I probably am always going to be the hardest on them because I want to push them to the absolute max as an athlete, as a person, because I think a lot of times, they don’t know what they have in them, and they can do a little more. I want them to pull that out.”
Contact sports features writer Ryan O’Gara at (765) 213-5829. Follow him on Twitter @RyanOGaraTSP.