SPRINGDALE — Last season, great energy and strong team chemistry led Springdale Har-Ber to a second consecutive state volleyball finals appearance.
Coach Shyrah Schisler subsequently lost a number of key pieces that contributed a school-record 32-win season. Having such a large senior class, she knew this fall would bring certain challenges with just four upperclassmen — Lauren Thompson, Kaitlyn Schemel, Taylor Powell and Maria Pratt.
But, even knowing that, she had a belief in her newcomers and those who received game experience a season ago.
“Molly Kingston, Jayci Carpenter and Lauren truly are the only returners from last season that played and got significant playing time,” Schisler said. “We felt like we had some girls who were ready to play varsity last year, but with the caliber of players we had it just wasn’t their time yet.
“Now, we have some girls who are hungry to do that and it’s time for them to learn how to be the leader in that role. They were prepared for it.”
As Har-Ber enters play tonight against rival Springdale High at Wildcat Arena, it carries in a 16-6 mark and a 6-2 record in 7A-West matches. Schisler has seen her team’s chemistry evolve as the season has progressed, allowing for a number of players to strive in big roles — roles that needed filling for another state tournament run.
Natalie Williams, a sophomore, is one of those players. Through 22 matches, Williams has recorded 579 assists, a number even she is surprised by. “I didn’t expect that,” she said smiling. Schisler said Williams is thriving while learning on the fly and finding ways to mesh with the team’s upperclassmen. Her competitive nature certainly helps in that regard.
“The great thing about her is she’s super competitive,” Schisler said. “She wants to make every ball better for the team and her teammates. We’ve urged Natalie to swing a little bit, too. Her percentage when she attacks is high. We can’t have all the pressure on our outside, so that’s been nice for us.”
Thompson has proven to be Har-Ber’s biggest threat on the attack, but alongside her is Carpenter, who has stepped up with 223 kills and 27 service aces. Schisler saw Carpenter’s leadership qualities and want to be successful develop in junior high. And in terms of the team, Carpenter has enjoyed seeing contributions from across the board push the team forward.
“I feel like Natalie and a lot of the sophomores have stepped up, and some of the juniors,” Carpenter said. “Because we had so many seniors last year, so we didn’t really get a chance to be on the court together, but we have a lot of diversity with the classes.”
In 2016, Schisler was confident in libero and current University of Central Arkansas Sugar Bear volleyball player Emily Doss, who visited the team Tuesday at practice. Doss was a leader and steady hand for Har-Ber in big matches, and Schisler is now getting the same from Kingston. She has recorded 153 digs and is among the team leaders in serve receptions, kickstarting the Lady Wildcats’ offense.
“You put Molly anywhere on the court and she’s going to be successful,” Schisler said. “If she’s setting, if she’s passing, if she’s hitting, she does a good job for us. She can be very firm, but she’s team-oriented and exactly what she wants from her teammates.”
Har-Ber’s current group grew up playing with and against each other in Ozark Juniors and junior high. Kingston said from an early age she could envision teaming up with Carpenter, Williams and others at Har-Ber.
“They were always the person out there that was loud and super excited for their team,” she said. “You could tell they were a good team player and they wanted to work hard to play on this level.”
With so many new faces, combined with veterans, Schisler is wearing different hats with different players to take the chemistry to another level. It has been different, but a good different, she said, and she’s been proud of the growth so far.
“Putting it all together at the higher level is cool because you see the kids who grew up playing against each other and with each other, and now we’re bonding them together,” Schisler said. “That’s a challenge, but exciting at the same time.”