Talent returns for Lady Wildcat Volleyball

By John Lipez

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – Second year Central Mountain volleyball coach Chipp McCann is upbeat as his team prepares to start the season with a noon time matchup this Saturday at Bald Eagle Area. He said there is lots of talent returning and some great players from last year’s junior varsity team that will take a more prominent role on the varsity team this year.

The Lady Wildcats return 11 girls who dressed for varsity last year and seven of them contributed substantially a year ago. Per the coach: “We have the potential to have a great season. Central Mountain volleyball is on the rise. We started a youth program this past spring and had 72 girls sign up in grades 3-6. This should help move CM volleyball that much further forward.  We’re looking for some girls to step into more of a leadership role. We have a team with a lot of talent and potential.”

Coach McCann said he is hopeful that with the experience gained, the team can build on the success of last year’s team and previous squads. “The potential is there to match/ exceed the success from last year. It’s going to be a matter of the girls meshing, supporting each other and working together towards a common goal. As the saying goes, the sky is the limit.”

Central Mountain lost four players to graduation, but coach McCann said he has confidence in the current group. “They’ve played a lot of volleyball over the years, we’re pretty athletic and some of our younger girls that played varsity last year gained some valuable experience. We should be pretty balanced across the court and fun to watch!”

As for District 6 play, the coach says State College is going to be the team to beat. Altoona returns a lot of talented players and Mifflin County has only gotten better.

After this Saturday’s opener at BEA, Central Mountain has some strong competition lined up as the season unfolds.

The inaugural PHAC tournament will be hosted at CM on Saturday, Sept. 2 starting at 9 a.m. With Hughesville, Danville and Lewisburg starting girls’ volleyball this fall, there are enough teams to form the PHAC conference, joining Williamsport, Loyalsock, Shamokin and Central Mountain.

Other schedule highlights include:

9/16- St Francis tournament. – 30 teams entered

9/23- Cumberland Valley’s Rally in the Valley tournament. (One of the toughest tournaments in PA).

10/21- Parkersburg High (Parkersburg, WV) – CM volleyball is taking its show to WV to participate in this tournament.

Coach McCann said, “We’re excited to get started. We appreciate all of everybody’s support and can’t wait to see you all at CMHS gym for a game!”