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Upper St. Clair girls ready for volleyball season

By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read
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Alex Amos will be among the key hitters returning to the Upper St. Clair girls’ volleyball team this season.

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Elia Kallick (No. 24) goes for the block during girls’ volleyball action last season. The Upper St. Clair senior returns as a middle blocker and hopes to help the Panthers improve upon last year’s third-place finish in the WPIAL

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Kindler Norman (No. 2) will play an important role as the setter for the Upper St. Clair girls’ volleyball team this season.

No pun intended, but expect a spike in volleyball participation this season now that the 2016 Summer Olympics have ended.

“The Olympics are truly a great thing for every sport,” Upper St. Clair girls’ volleyball coach Alex Hinsey said enthusiastically. “The publicity that volleyball gets from both indoor and beach volleyball, especially with our American teams doing so well, will really help the sport of volleyball grow,” added Hinsey, who noted that for the first time, last year more girls participated in volleyball at the high school level than any other sport, including basketball.

There is another reason why USC’s numbers are growing. The Panthers, like the Americans, are winners. They were undefeated section champions, bronze medalist in the WPIAL and ranked No. 22 in the state last fall.

With as many as seven veterans returning to the starting line-up, expectations are for another competitive campaign in 2016.

“We’ll look to go out and compete in every match against every team,” said Hinsey. “We like to say we work hard to earn the other teams respect. We want them to walk off the court, no matter the opponent, and say that team is good.”

Even with the loss of four-time all-state selection Sam Amos (freshman at Duke University) as well as Leah Kern, Emma Galligan and Emily Kennedy to graduation, the Panthers anticipate outside hitters Alex Amos and Isabelle Walsh, setter Kindler Norman, middle hitter, Elia Kallick, right side Leslie O’Malley and defensive specialist Maryn Foster to carry the torch.

Amos ranked second on the team with 353 kills, while Walsh added 145. Norman ranked second behind Amos in service aces with 55. Kallick, O’Malley and Amos were among the team’s top blockers.

USC also sees the return to the lineup of Lilly Drucis. A defensive specialist, she started as a sophomore but missed her junior year to injury.

“Expectations for the veteran players are to lead by example in the gym, come ready to work every day and leave an impact on the USC program so that when they move on they can look back and say they made it better,” Hinsey said.

He anticipates his younger players stepping up into new roles and helping offset the production lost from the graduating players. In addition to Drucis, the Panthers will rely on freshman Emily O’Malley.

“I think a lot of people are going to be surprised with how much Lilly can help our team and Emily will make a large impact at middle for us,” Hinsey said.

As with all the sports in the WPIAL, volleyball underwent realignment. USC is now classified as 4A with 26 other squads and is grouped in Section 2 with former opponents Peters Township and Canon-McMillan, as well as new and traditional rivals like Baldwin, Bethel Park, Moon and Mt. Lebanon.

“The restructuring will play a huge impact,” Hinsey said, noting that six of the seven teams in the section made the AAA playoffs last year. “We’re excited about the challenge. If anything, we’ve gained rivalries by going into our new section. We’ll now be in a section with Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, and Baldwin while maintaining our rivalries with Peters and Canon-Mac.”

Regardless of the friendly frays, USC anticipates going about its business to ensure a successful season. The Panthers plan on being prepared.

“It starts with practice and ends with practice,” Hinsey said. “Our players need to buy into what the coaches are teaching in the gym and work hard every day to get better at the team philosophies and principles. If we can get every player in the program to do that, the sky is the limit.”

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