The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Titans are ready and reloaded
A young Lorain squad is ready to defend its Lake Erie League title with just two returning varsity players
Lorain is in the same position it was a year ago, but somehow this season feels so different.
Last year, the Titans were tasked with replacing nearly their entire starting lineup from a conference championship team a year prior — and with a first-year varsity coach nonetheless.
Anchored by one of the area’s top middle hitters in then-senior Seven Townsel, one of only two returners in 2017, Lorain not only repeated as Lake Erie League champions, but won the title outright after sharing with Maple Heights in 2016.
This season, the Titans again return two players from the previous team but the situation is far from the same.
Sydney Patterson and Emily VanHorn, the only holdovers from 2017, are also the only players with any varsity experience, and while last year’s squad may have lost most of its starters, it could turn to players who at the very least had been with the team and understood the tempo of playing at the varsity level.
“The difference is the girls who are the fillers this year are all sophomores,” Coach Chantille Jackson said. “So the part of that plays into the inexperience is that all of them played on the freshman team, so they’re jumping from freshman-level volleyball to varsity-level volleyball where maybe before sending a free ball was OK but now we need to be a little more aggressive.”
Jackson has is leaning on Patterson and VanHorn as the lone seniors and looks to them as “mini coaches,” guiding the young players on the court in ways she’s not immediately able in game-time situations, and the first true taste of that responsibility was Aug. 10 at the annual Lorain County volleyball preview night at Avon Lake.
“We look to (the seniors) for everything,” Jackson said. “Last year we had a really good leadership base and those two looked up to them and now they’re kind of learning what that feels like to be in that role.
“They’re almost like mini coaches and the (other) girls really appreciate that because they recognize the difference in their level of play and the two seniors’ level of play.”
The pressure is on, though, for both Patterson and VanHorn and it’s not something that, as a coach, Jackson is shying away from.
Winning a conference title is the standard that’s been established over the past few seasons and the bar won’t be lowered simply because there may be a steeper learning curve this year than in years past.
It’s at bit unnerving, especially for VanHorn, who has been named the Titans’ libero, transitioning from playing the left back to the middle in what is one of the most important positions on the court.
“It was something we talked about together and decided,” VanHorn said of Jackson’s decision to make her libero. “I’ve been a left back for (three years) so it was a little more difficult for me to transition to middle back, especially being the libero.”
As for the front row, Patterson said she feels fairly positive about the direction the team’s headed and at this point it’s about instilling an overall sense of confidence.
“We’re going to stumble a little bit ... but I feel like we’re going to figure everything out and continue winning and moving forward,” Patterson said. “This is way faster than what they’re used to... they’re all very athletic and they’re all very aggressive players, they just have to build their confidence up.”
Jackson added: “I want them to learn how to play at a high-level of volleyball regardless of who’s on the other side of the net, regardless of who their opponent is.
“I tell them these are our realities these are not our excuses and everyone has a different reality. Yes, we are coming in with a young team, but a lot of teams are coming in with young team so we can’t utilize that and lean on that as an excuse when we need to just rise and do what we expect.”
Lorain opens the season at home Aug. 21 in a nonconference game against Open Door.