SWCC volleyball rebuilds

Taylor Shipley and Parker Evans both have new roles this year in a rebuilding effort for Southwestern Community College volleyball.

Last year, Shipley began the season as a volunteer assistant coach and Evans was a sophomore all-region defensive specialist. Through mid-season coaching changes and a number of player injuries, the Spartans struggled through a 2-25 season, including 0-9 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference.

Shipley, now the head coach, has five returning players from last year’s team on the current roster of 12 players. Evans has transitioned from player to assistant coach for the Spartans. Together, they are trying to build a program revival that can be sustained.

“I’m excited to see it grow,” Shipley said last week before preparing for the first preseason scrimmage Saturday at Northeast (Nebraska). “I’ve made Creston my home and I don’t plan to go anywhere. This was my goal, to be here in this position.”

Shipley, a Southeast Polk graduate who coached club volleyball in her hometown area before moving to Creston in 2021, served as interim head coach from mid-October through the end of the 2022 Spartan season. In addition to coaching, Shipley works for Liberty Mutual as a senior subrogation resolution representative.

Evans and sophomore outside hitter Jordan England received ICCAC honorable mention last year as players, and Evans transitioned to a coaching role for Shipley last spring as she graduated from SWCC with an associate of science degree in May. She is a 2021 graduate of Lamar High School in Lamar, Missouri, and played two years of collegiate volleyball. Last year she ranked fourth in the nation for digs per set and 11th in digs overall before suffering a season-ending injury.

Evans is also employed as a universal banker at First National Bank in Creston.

“Parker is awesome and I’m really excited to see what she can bring to the program this year,” Shipley said. “I think it’s important to have a player transition into a coaching role like that because she has recently been through what these girls are going to go through, so she will be able to provide a lot of insight.”

Five returning players will also provide a foundation of experience on this year’s team, led by 6-2 middle blocker and outside hitter Greta Petofi of Hungary and 5-10 right side hitter Hallica Warren-Anderson of Alpha, Ill.

Another returnee, 5-11 Samira Baade, is transitioning from setting duties to provide depth at outside hitter.

Sophomore Meredith Gettings of Ankeny is one of the most versatile players on the team. Last year she saw some duty at both libero and setter, and is also capable of helping up front as an outside hitter. Early in the season she will likely be part of the effort to solidify the back row defense. The other returnee is Malori Leonard of Lamoni, who is much like Gettings in terms of a versatile skill set.

Otherwise, the team has eight new players working to adjust to the collegiate game. It was a rapid roster reconstruction after Shipley officially began her duties in December.

“It was tough,” Shipley said. “A lot of being persistent and reaching out, watching a lot of film, doing a lot of emails and phone calls. I explained what I was trying to build here. We’re rebuilding something special and making sure we have a good, positive environment. We want to focus on fundamentals and build from there.”

Despite having players from four different countries and four states, Shipley said the team has become a cohesive unit since workouts began Aug. 2.

“We were hoping everyone coming in would fit into that team dynamic that we’re hoping for, and it’s actually come together very seamlessly,” Shipley said. “I’ve been impressed with how the girls have connected so quickly.”

Among the newcomers, 5-10 Beatriz Goncalves of Brazil has been impressive early with the ability to be used both as setter and right side hitter. Also in the hunt as a setter is 5-4 freshman Jayda Chew of Murray, also a softball recruit at SWCC. She reached 1,000 career assists as a setter for the Lady Mustangs.

The makeup of the back line defense will be determined in the preseason scrimmages, but Shipley said it’s likely that Gettings will be joined by freshmen Lexi Hahn of St. Louis and Emily Strait of Utah as top contenders for defensive duty. Leonard and freshmen Emily Strait and Sophie Lyle provide depth as defensive specialists.

Front row candidates include Kaydence Eagletail and Leonie Kettner. Lyle has some experience as both a hitter and back row defender.

“We’re still kind of a work in progress,” Shipley said. “The scrimmages will help us see what works best and see how the girls click together. We’re focusing on being more consistent so we can let our opponents make the errors.”

Shipley expects defending regional champion Iowa Central and runner-up Kirkwood to be top ICCAC Division II contenders this season. DMACC, Iowa Lakes and Hawkeye were other teams in the top half of the league a year ago.

The Spartans will scrimmage William Penn JV on their court at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The season opener is on the road Aug. 19 at Central (Nebraska) Community College in Columbus, Nebraska.

Southwestern’s home opener is Aug. 24 at home vs. Peru State JV at 7 p.m.