Experienced CHS coach looks for young players to develop

Written by Katie Morford Tuesday, 30 August 2011 17:07

Centre High School volleyball letter-winners and seniors for the 2011 season are: back row (from left), Anna Weber, Genesis Rudolph, Ellie Miller; front row, Casey Simons, Bryanna Svoboda.

The Centre volleyball team will look to experienced coach Yvonne Burhoop, who returns for her 30th year, to find victories on the court this season.

“We should be in the middle of the pack in the new league with the number of starters and letter-winners returning,” said Burhoop, referring to the Wheat State League, now in its second season.

The Cougars lost three letter-winning seniors to graduation last year. They finished with a 12-18 overall record.

Returning for Centre are hitter Anna Weber, hitter Ellie Miller, setter Genesis Rudoph, hitter Cacey Simons and hitter Bryanna Svoboda, all of whom started for the Cougars as sophomores.

Weber received second-team all-league honors last season and Svoboda was named to the all-tournament team at the Cougars home event.

“At this time the starting positions are not set,” Burhoop said. “I see two freshmen, Shelby Makovec and Brenna Shields, who possibly will see time on varsity.

“We must stay healthy and develop some of our younger players in the areas of hitting and setting.”

At this point, other players who will be vying for varsity playing time include Carrie Carlson, Beka Besore and Makenzie Deines.

“Our strength will be in the fact that we have five returning letter-winners,” Burhoop said.

She predicted Little River and Goessel would vie for the league title, with Peabody-Burns also likely to finish ahead of the Cougars.

Centre was scheduled to kick off its regular season with a road matchup versus Inman Aug. 30.