MIDWAY, Ky. -- The Midway University volleyball team opens their 2018 campaign on Friday and Saturday when they play in the Milligan Mountain Madness Challenge hosted by Milligan (Tenn.) in Elizabethton, Tennessee.
The Eagles will play two games on Friday starting at 2 p.m. ET and two more games on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. ET. On Friday, they play Pikeville (Ky.) and Milligan, while on Saturday they will take on Union (Ky.) and Bryan (Tenn.).
The Midway volleyball program is entering year two under head coach, Jonea Rima. Year one didn't go as planned for Rima, but she is looking for her team to take the next step in her second season.
"We are excited to get the season underway," said Rima. "We have a great group and they've really been working hard. We are young, but I am excited for the future."
Although the Eagles return five seniors, as Rima said, her team is very young with no juniors, one sophomore and 11 freshman.
Midway's five seniors include: Kylie Flatt (Louisville, Ky.), Claire Thomas (Louisville, Ky.), Ashley Sherrard (Louisville, Ky.), Courtney George (Louisville, Ky.) and Hannah Payne (Louisville, Ky.).
All five seniors saw time at some point last season, but it was Sherrard and Payne who were in the rotation on a regular basis.
Payne led the defensive attack with a team-high 489 digs for an average of 4.33 digs per set. She also finished with 41 service aces. Sherrard, on the other hand, took over the setting duties throughout the season finishing with 719 assists as well as 206 digs. She also led the team with 53 service aces.
Throughout last season, Flatt became valuable on defense, while Thomas and George began to help out on offense. Flatt tallied 226 digs last season and also posted 23 kills. Thomas had 12 kills and 10 blocks, while George had 11 blocks to go with 25 kills.
Midway also returns the services of sophomore, Lynsey Doles (Ripley, Tenn.) who is expected to help out in the middle with Thomas up front.
Along with the returners, Rima has also noticed a couple of freshman that have begun to stand out and that are expected to see time in the rotation.
"Ashlee Simpson is young, but I am looking forward to her growth in our program.
Simpson is a freshman from Somerset, Kentucky that is expected to help anchor the defense along with Payne and Flatt.
"Our serve receive is much improved from last year," said Rima. "Our defense will continue to improve as we grow as a team."
Rima also expects freshman, Madi Eberst (Chillicothe, Ohio) to step in and help out Sherrard with setting duties. Eberst could also help out offensively on the right side as the season progresses.
Offensively, Midway will look to freshman, Gracee Murphy (Paducah, Ky.) and Rose Leslie (Sand Springs, Okla.) to help fill the void left by Jennifer Harden, Raquel Bowers and Tayler Johnson. Both Murphy and Leslie are young, but have the potential to really grow.
Rima also noted that she likes what she has seen from freshman, Taylor Whalen (Walton, Ky.) and expects her to help out defensively, but could also see time as a setter as well.
Rima has an idea of what to expect from her team, but as she notes, you don't quite know until you actually play, "We need to play so that we can address areas for improvement."
Milligan College is providing live stats for all matches this weekend and the tournament page can be found here.
After traveling to Tennessee this weekend and Cincinnati-Clermont (Ohio) on September 4, the Eagles will host Berea (Ky.) and Crowley's Ridge (Ark.) in their home opener on Thursday, September 6.
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