Rogers High volleyball sets sights on top-3 finish in SPSL South

The Rogers High volleyball program lost a large chunk of its roster to graduation.

Yet the Rams still have plenty of potential and talent at the net with junior Hannah Burkart and senior Lexi Brown. All of these elements lead to one expectation for coach John Reopelle: Finish among the top of the Class 4A South Puget Sound League South Division.

“I expect them to compete for a top-three spot. I think in some kind of order it’s going to be ER (Emerald Ridge), Curtis and Rogers,” Reopelle said. “I like to at least factor in there somewhere, and to get in to the postseason you want to have a good spot, and three’s a good spot to be.”

The Rams have struggled out of the gate, as Rogers sits at 0-2 entering this week. Both of Rogers’ losses came to strong teams in 4A Narrows foes Olympia (3-1, Sept. 8) and Curtis (3-0, Sept. 10).

With these tough early matches, Reopelle feels it will prepare his girls for the crunch of the season. After all, it will be hard for Rogers to match up with some of the top teams in state — especially those that possess size at the net the Rams can’t match.

“Curtis had what, three girls at least 6-foot defending the net? We don’t have that size at our school,” Reopelle said. “I asked the girls if they’ve seen anyone that tall walking the halls of our school. All of the really good teams have one thing in common: that they have big, tall girls on their teams.”

For Rogers hitters Burkart and Brown, they each stand 5-foot-9 — far shorter than what the Rams will see come the postseason (Emerald Ridge has three girls listed at least 6-foot).

So the name of the game for Rogers is to play smart and know how to attack the giants of the volleyball world.

“(We’ve) played some really big girls before, but it’s just finding your way around them and finding their weak spots,” Burkart said. “It’s how you’re going to get through (those) games.”

Playing the game smart while attacking an opponent’s weakness is something the greats teach when it comes to volleyball.

And when there’s a team with strong talent, that element of the game just makes a team dominant. Rogers has the talent as Burkart plays much bigger than her size suggests, with Brown taking on a diverse role for the Rams.

It’s through these elements that have Rogers hoping for not only regular-season success but success in the playoffs as well.

“We haven’t been able to get both Lexie and Hannah going at the same time in the same game,” Reopelle said of his hitters’ early-season struggles. “They’ve both played really well overall … it’s just that they haven’t figured out how to attack together yet.”

Once the pair out the kinks and get their timing down, the duo has the chance to carry the Rams the rest of the season.

“I think (we) will be really good if we keep working at our blocking and getting our strategies together — I think we’ll be really strong in the front row,” Burkart said.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 10:36 AM with the headline "Rogers High volleyball sets sights on top-3 finish in SPSL South."