Bartlett sets a good example for Vikings
Senior setter Hannah Bartlett, a Far West League first-team all-star in 2014, was one of two Vikings to start all four games Thursday. Stan Pusieski/EWSSenior setter Hannah Bartlett knows she needs to set more than the ball for her teammates on the Siuslaw High School girls volleyball team.
She needs to set a good example.
And despite a 1-3 showing Thursday in the season-opening Marshfield Jamboree in Coos Bay, she continually coaxed, inspired and applauded her fellow Vikings.
"Even if I'm not playing well, it's my goal to encourage everyone else," says Bartlett, a Far West League first-team all-star in 2014. "Encouragement is a big part of volleyball. If everyone gets down on themselves, your performance suffers."
Second-year coach Angie Herring had different starting lineups for each game, with only Bartlett and sophomore Emma Collins in all four.
Seniors Taylor Dotson and Ali Scheer, junior HannahLeah Jakobsen and freshman Makenzie York were in the lineup for the season opener, a 25-13 loss to tournament host Marshfield.
Freshman Jordan Long and junior Clair Waggoner started in place of Jakobsen and York in Game 2, a 25-12 loss to North Bend.
Sophomore Maci Wells joined Bartlett, Collins, Jakobsen, Waggoner and York in Game 3 as Siuslaw rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to batter Bandon, 25-16.
And in a finale that went to the last mad scramble, Wells, Waggoner, Dotson and York joined Bartlett and Collins in the starting lineup in a game won by Coquille, 25-24.
"It was kind of cool to get to play with different people," said Bartlett. "We're just trying to see what groups click better together."
It was a plan that Herring followed from the first serve, a plan that included bringing her all-star front-row player, Elyssa Rose, off the bench in all four games. Juniors Abby Watkins and Anna Minten, an exchange student from Belgium, also made contributions.
"I just wanted to see different players in action on the court, to see how they would handle the pressure," says Herring. "I wanted to see who was going to pull the team up, who was going to provide the energy."
Herring saw some things she liked.
"I think our service was really good, which is surprising at the beginning of the season. I think the players who were stepping up in service did a great job."
And she saw some things she didn't like.
"We need to work on our aggression on hitting, and on defense, playing low. We need to work on expecting (quick) tips, and on being ready."
Next is a pair of back-to-back nonleague matches, Tuesday at home against Philomath at 6 p.m. and Wednesday at Elmira at 6:45 p.m.
The Vikings play Junction City and Newport in Newport on Sept. 10, then open league player Sept. 15 at South Umpqua.
"For the newness of the team, today went pretty well," says Bartlett, replaying the jamboree in her mind. "Many of us haven't played together much, but we're never going to stop growing as the season goes."
