Except for its coach, the 2006 Wood River High School varsity volleyball team won't have a Richards on the court for the first time since 2001—but the team's goal remains the same, which is making it all the way to the State 4A tournament.
Fifth-year coach Tim Richards (93-63, 4-4 at state) won't be coaching one of his talented daughters for the first time and that's a loss for the perennially strong Wolverine program. Whitney (in Alabama), Rachael (in Illinois) and now Hannah (at the College of Southern Idaho) all went on to play college volleyball.
But Richards and co-coach Gary Carr have welcomed four seniors to the varsity as Wood River (22-18, second place league) tries for its seventh consecutive 20-win season. If there's one thing that characterizes the team, it's height.
"Our team strength is we have a lot of tall athletes who can hit and block," said Richards. "We have four seniors who have stuck together all the way through and they want to go for it all. We also have great leadership from our two captains this year."
Those two captains are senior outside hitter Elissa Baker and senior libero/setter Casey Vegwert. They embody scrappiness that's essential for defensive coverage that wins tournament championships.
Nobody knows better than coach Richards that Wood River—winner of 18 district titles from 1977-2003 with 19 state trips during that period—has come up tantalizingly short in winning championships and going to state since the program moved up to the more competitive 4A level in 2004.
Two years ago, a sudden injury to league MVP Rachael Richards at tournament time left the top-seeded Wolverines vulnerable and Minico beat Wood River for the Great Basin title in a deciding match, in Hailey. Last year Hailey beat #1-seeded Jerome in the first title match, only to fall short in three games in the decider.
You automatically make it to the state tournament by winning the Great Basin West conference title. By finishing second, you have to fight through a very tough back door. In each case for the last two years, Wood River's state hopes were dashed in state play-in losses to another of the Gem State's top volleyball programs, Preston.
"We had Jerome right where we wanted them last year," said coach Richards wistfully. "A year is a long time to think about it, but we're training right now to compete for two hours and to have the consistency to win such a match. A lot of it is experience, confidence and togetherness."
Hannah Richards, a first-team All-Great Basin selection and co-MVP on the team with Jamie Stone, provided much of that consistency on the court. Coach Richards said, "We're looking for someone who can step up consistently like that."
Elissa Baker looks to be such a player. Coach Richards said the left side defender is supposed to be the best defender on a volleyball team, and Baker fills that role for Wood River. He said, "She may not be the biggest starter, but what I like is a girl who makes the most of what she has."
He summarized, "Athletically, we will be better defenders. We're working hard on team defense, speed and quickness to the ball."
Richards and Carr have quite a starting seven, featuring Baker and Vegwert, middles Hannah Ward and Kelsey Lidstrom, 6-0 setter Leah McIlhenny, 6-0 outside hitter/setter Hannah Gove and a potentially dominant outside/middle in 6-3 junior Lauren Morgenthaler.
The coaches will try to find a couple of rotations where Morgenthaler can hammer the ball and change games, in theory, just with height. They'll continue to use a 6-2 offense to get more players on the floor.
"It's nice to have 10 solid girls on varsity because they're always competing against each other," said Richards.
Reigning Great Basin champion Jerome (18-9), two-and-out at state last year, returns league "Player of the Year," Megan Parish, a 5-10 middle hitter. She has improved as a player, Richards said. Wood River will try to put Morgenthaler and Ward up to block her and see what happens.
Wood River, second to eventual State 4A runner-up Skyview of Nampa in the prestigious Hailey tournament last September, will be looking for a better finish in the 26th annual Wood River Invitational Sept. 15-16 on the Hailey hardwoods.
Teams due for the 10-team varsity meet include Centennial of Boise, Mountain View of Meridian, Rigby, Blackfoot, Boise, Filer, Hillcrest of Idaho Falls and Gooding.
Wood River debuts its 13-match, three-tournament season schedule Sept. 1-2 at the Highland tournament in Pocatello, then the Wolverines visit Jerome Tuesday, Sept. 5 in a rematch of last year's Great Basin Conference West championship on the Tiger floor.
First home meet is Thursday, Sept. 7 against Pocatello.
Varsity
Head coaches: Tim Richards and Gary Carr
Co-captains: Elissa Baker and Casey Vegwert
Seniors (4): Elissa Baker, 5-9 outside hitter; Casey Vegwert, 5-6 libero/setter; Kelsey Lidstrom, 5-11 middle; Leah McIlhenny, 6-0 setter.
Juniors (4): Lauren Morgenthaler, 6-3 outside hitter/middle; Hannah Ward, 5-11 middle; Hannah Gove, 6-0 outside hitter/setter; Carly Ballantyne, 5-8 defensive specialist.
Sophomores (2): Angela Coleman, 5-9 outside hitter/libero; Kaylee Baker, 5-10 outside hitter.
Junior varsity
Head coach: Anna Edwards
Players: Dani Stone, Currie Arnold, McKenna Murphy, Katie Pruett, Wrenn Patterson, Dakota Orchard, Elissa Durkheimer, Hanna Gustafson, Sam Engel, Hallie Hall, Shelby
Grubbs and Kylie Anderson.
Freshman team
Head coach: Kim Young
Players: Sara Koonce, Monica Garceau, Ellen Johnson, Grace Lagodich, Felicia Bauer, Whitney Dudley, Ali Sowersby, Chelsey Stevens, Haley Libert, Carly Gustafson, Morgan Pintler.
