Season Preview: Tiger volleyball ready to build on last year

It doesn't get much better than opening your season with victories over some of the top teams in the state, including the defending state champion.

But for the Douglas High School volleyball team, there is still plenty to work toward.

Douglas combines a very strong returning class (five starters and three all-leaguers) with a promising crop of newcomers this season as the Tigers look to return to the top after battling through a rebuilding year last season.

As far as tough breaks go, it couldn't have gone much worse for the Tigers last season as Douglas saw two starters go down with broken bones at separate parts of the season and another two starters sit out a bulk of the season with mono.

Tack on to it that Douglas was playing under its eighth head coach in as many years and that league foes Damonte Ranch and Reno were enjoying extremely strong senior classes, and it was a recipe for trouble.

Even in the face of that, the Tigers pushed through to finish third place in the Sierra League and advance to the Northern 4A Regional semifinals.

This year, Douglas is hoping to reap the benefits of the hard work last year.

"The chemistry of this year's team is incredible," said first-year coach Suzi Townsell, Douglas' ninth head coach in as many years. "Everyone is meshing very well, they are battling instead of giving up. We've had to come from behind a couple times already in Las Vegas and the girls really rose to the challenge."

The season-opening Las Vegas Invitational last weekend was a promising start for the Tigers, and Townsell saw a number of good things from each player on her roster.

Returning first-team all-league middle hitter Jessica Waggoner and outside hitter Taryn Williams, who earned second-team honors despite sitting out the end of last season with a broken ankle will be the team's leaders early on.

Megan Mitchell was the team's other all-leaguer last season, improving as a setter as the season went on.

All three are only juniors.

Senior Bridget Maestretti will be Douglas' second middle in her third year on the varsity squad.

"Bridget has really got her timing and her blocking going," Townsell said. "With her tenacity and her drive, she is going to have a great season."

Douglas is deep at setter with Allie Hughes backing Mitchell up, and newcomer Jordan Marsh fast on their heels.

Mary Lombino returns at libero and Alyssa Todd has made the switch from middle to right side, which Townsell said is a more natural position for her.

"She's been serving the ball well and she's tall and can block," Townsell said. "It's really boosted her confidence over there, so we are excited to see what she brings."

The rest of Douglas' roster will be newcomers, many of which will play either a starting or supporting role as the season progresses.

Sophomore Jourdan Burke made an immediate impression during the first tournament at the outside hitter position and sophomore Christine DuPuis will push Williams and Burke on the outside.

Melissa Brown is expected to play a big role, fighting for one of the middle spots and Mysta Townsell, the team's remaining sophomore, has had a lot of success early on with serving the ball.

"As a team, they work together really well," Townsell said. "We have high hopes for this year. We're excited about the varsity squad, but we have a very strong junior varsity and freshman program as well.

"These sophomores and freshman will be feeding the program for the next couple of years, so we'll see what happens."