Douglas County High School - Huskie Highlights Yearbook (Castle Rock, CO)

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n xii 1 I I awww vm A talented senior. Heather Pruim, pounds a solid spike at dive to save the ball. Her injury required 13 stitches and her opponents. Heather sacrificed her chin this season in a she was forced to sit out two games, FRONT ROW: Michelle Rennecker, Heather Pruim. SEC- OND ROW: Margaret Doherty, Ute Coenen, Lisa Monroe. Susie Taylor, BACK ROW: Kim Curtis, Marcie Mehl, Coach Doug Kissler, Laura Clint. Tracy Burgess. Teri Jensma. ,gn ' .,-4.10 L Volleyball DCHS OPP 2 Arapahoe 0 1 Gateway 2 2 Greeley 0 1 Broomfield 2 2 St. Mary's 0 0 Marycrest 2 0 Centaurus 2 Varsity tournament K5 gamesl 2 Pueblo South 0 2 Greeley 0 1 Rampart 2 2 Air Academy 1 1 Widefield 2 2 Englewood 1 2 Adams City 1 2 Highland 0 2 Jefferson 0 2 Rangeview 0 2 Brighton 0 2 Ponderosa 0 Districts 1 St. Maryls 2 Season: 13- 7 15

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Vars tp Jr Vol eyfnegll batter March Mehl digs for the bill lalwaus think of The setter is the team s core as all offensive plays resul I I I I pain while l'm sprawling for the ball, ' remarked Marcie. from her ability to position the ball. Pleases Coach The varsity volleyball players huddled in the middle of their court. After being given last minute advice and inspiration, the small circle radiated vibrantly. Each girl flew backward into a well-practiced roll and immediately stood-up. They took their positions on the court, lt was an impressive sight which only began to tell the story of an impressive team. i'They were 11 individuals from 11 different directions and they were willing to open their minds and accept each other for the purpose of playing volleyballf' reflected Coach Doug Kissler. The volleyball team played with superb teamwork and presented what Coach Kissler felt were ideal characteristics. 'iThey were the ideal that every coach worked for, but rarely gets to see, he beamed. Heather Pruim added, We were more of a team because we were really close friends and we trusted each otherf' Remembering their game against Brighton, Coach Kissler exclaimed, 'flt was an awesome match. We played tough enough when we played Brighton to stop anybody in the leaguelw He recalled the team's exquisite play- ing which caused their opponent's coach to shake his head in disbelief and awe, Teamwork and trust were only two aspects of the season. Coach Kissler explained that they had a 'igrowingw season. i'There wasnft one player on the team who didn't make signifis cant developments in their skills and mental developments toward volleyball. Three losses at the seasonls beginning followed by eight straight wins illustrated their improvement. Coach Kissler also was impressed by the team's fantastic maturity. The team finished third in their league with a record of 13 wins and seven losses. Players had one complaint about this outcome. They want- ed to go to state. HWe thought we had finally gotten over getting beat, commented Susie Taylor, referring to the lost game which ruined their chances for State. Tracy Burgess brightened this frustrating memory by offering, HEvery team in the state finishes their season with a loss, excluding the state champions. She felt that losing their last game was pre-destined. She thought the thing that needed to be pondered was the season as a whole. When team members stepped back and looked, they agreed it was not too shabby! . 14 maui . I My . 3 ff -wi th :nf , - iw fi' ' , lil Foreign exchange student Ute Coenen carefully bumps the hall as teammates look on in anticipation. Ute, who is an important adtlition, explained that playing volleyball in the US and playing in Germany was all the same. g Q---A... N-.im fl K -65 An aspiring college volleyball player. senior Michelle Re necker passes the ball during a game against St. Mar High School, The girls diminished their competition hopes by defeating them two games in a row,

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JV ix- I A soPH ' Fast Team Deemed Coach's Dream They were a real coach's dream. So often there is something you'd like to try, but afraid they can't handle the change. That wasnlt true for this team! exclaimed coach Steve Ball, who coached the JV volleyball team. He ex- plained that the team was fast . They were fast learners and they were fast movers. They improved immensely and they had great atti- tudes. He stressed that the team looked the way I think they should look at the end of the sea- son. The team pulled out of a slump to slaugh- ter Ponderosa in the last game. Coach Ball concluded I enjoyed volleyball so much this year! JV player, sophomore Vicki Chase empha- sized, It took a lot of hard work, but it was worth it. The team finished their league sea- son with a 7-4 record. The sophomore team showed drastic im- provement. Coach Mitch Koppel labeled it amazing. He also tagged the season enlighten- ing, I learned a lotf' Their learning exper- ience, he felt, went beyond volleyball and into life and people and how to work with them. Introduced to a totally different style of play- ing, the girls were forced to change. I had to relearn all my skills because what I was taught in ninth grade wasn't what the high school teacher taught, remarked Sara Gonsalves. Once they learned to play, they never gave up. They hung in there and did their best to be tough, exclaimed Coach Koppel. He also voiced his major team goal. It was to train and build up an attitude, that with work they'll go places and without it, they won't. The majority of the team members agreed that their season was one of improvement. We played rotten at the beginning but at the end had enthusiasm. We began communicating and had fun on the court, pointed out Mindy Wright. Shanna Taylor commented, We may not have won all the games we wanted, but we learned how to work together as a group. Both teams seemed to reach their goals, and finished their season with success. The girls attributed their success to their coaches. All three volleyball teams interchanged coaching and they claimed that they couldn't have suc- ceeded without them. Shanna noted, The coaches were great. They didn't teach us only how to play volleyball, they taught us how to work together and respect each other. FRONT ROW: Rachael Bernd, Kandy Dorrow, Joey Skurich. BACK ROW: Amy Fritts, Lisa Feenstra, Vicki Chase, Coach Mitch Koppel, Sara Gonsalves, Heather Gottdenker, Margo Green, Mindy Wright. NOT PIC- TURED: Shanna Taylor, Angel Thomas, Piper Miller When the ball is passed correctly it can set up a powerful spond. Junior Marcia Nobel crouches low, while retaining play. However, too many times the ball has been spiked her balance, and passes to waiting setter Laura Clint. The downward and a low defensive position is needed to re- play aided their 2-1 victory. 16 Setting the ball is the only way to achieve a great offensive attack. Sophomore Angel Thomas concen- trates on the volleyball's flight at our home game against St. Mary 's September 13,