by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Lady Luck did no favors for Kansas City Kansas Community College volleyball coach Mary Bruno last season.
One game into the 2015 Jayhawk Conference season, the Lady Blue Devils had lost three starters due to injury.
“At times we were down to just eight healthy players,” said the Blue Devil mentor.
The result was a 10-22 record and a seventh place conference finish, a far cry from the 2014 season when the Blue Devils were 32-10 overall and a 9-1 in Jayhawk play on the way to winning the consolation bracket in the NJCAA Division II national tournament and a No. 8 ranking in the final NJCAA national poll.
With six returning sophomores, two highly regarded transfers and a promising corps of incoming freshmen, Bruno is ready to make a run at a third national tournament berth in just her sixth season (the Blue Devils finished sixth nationally in 2012).
“A very talented and competitive group of athletes,” Bruno said. “Taller than the last two years and more talented than last season – a very good core of sophomores along with incoming freshmen who will make a difference.”
Sophomores will provide the experience led by three returnees who are locked in a battle for the starting libero and defensive specialist positions – 5-7 Caitlin Reed of Bonner Springs; 5-7 Brooke Wilson of Osceola, Mo.; and 5-4 Kimberly Martinez of Guayama, Puerto Rico along with freshman Erin Reilly of Belton, Mo. A member of the 2014 squad, Martinez was the starter at libero last year only to get hurt in the first game of the season.
Alexis Harrell, a 5-11 middle blocker from St. Charles, Mo., returns to anchor the front line offensively while 5-11 Jessica Minear of Tonganoxie and 5-10 Leira Lopez of San German, Puerto Rico, provide experience on the right side. The front row will get additional help from two lanky transfers, 6-0 outside hitter Amanda Modesto and 6-3 right side Brianna Bonner. A native of Brazil, Modesto transferred from Genesee Community College in Batavia, N.Y.; Bonner played at Black Hawk Community College in Moline, Ill., in 2014 but did not compete last year.
A trio of area athletes are among a half-dozen freshmen who are expected to contribute heavily. Alazia Stanley, a 5-8 Bonner Springs graduate, has the inside track over Chelse Gloude of Beaumont, Texas, for the starting setter position while 5-10 Katie Heeter of Shawnee Mission South is very much in the mix at outside hitter.
Two frosh, 5-10 Alissa Nevarez of Turner and 6-1 Yvette Tamez of Donna, Texas, are vying for a starting spot alongside Harrell in the middle while more help will come when 6-1 Morgan Schwarz of Burleson, Texas, recovers from ACL surgery, perhaps as early as mid-September.
“Offensively, we should be very balanced,” Bruno said. “We have two players from the outside, two from the middle and one from the right side who can attack the net. Our outside will be dominate no matter who starts and the defense should be the solidifying part of our team.”
As usual, the Blue Devils will play one of the most difficult schedules in the nation made more difficult by the fact that only eight of the 22 playing dates are in the friendly confines of the KCKCC Field House. Four Jayhawk rivals are ranked in the NJCAA Division II pre-season Top 20 – No. 3 Johnson County, No. 6 Coffeyville, No. 12 Cowley and No. 14 Fort Scott while Neosho County received votes. The Blue Devils also play four other ranked teams, No. 5 Des Moines Area, No. 8 Kirkwood, No. 9 Central and No. 17 Pasco-Hernando State.
Ranked No. 7 in the Jayhawk preseason poll, the Blue Devils’ home opener won’t come until Sept. 14 against perennial Jayhawk power Cowley College and by that time they will have played a dozen matches.
After opening the season in the Neosho Tri-Match at Chanute, the Blue Devils take a couple of lengthy road trips to face some of the nation’s best – the Battle for the Dells tournament in Wisconsin Dells Aug. 27-28 and the Pasco Hernando Tournament in New Port Richey, Fla., Sept. 9-10. Add in opening Jayhawk Conference tests at defending champion Johnson County Aug. 31 and Highland Sept. 7 and the young Blue Devils will grow up in a hurry.
“We’re going to be thrown right into the fire but I’m super-excited,” said Bruno, who will again be assisted by her mother, Mary Bruno, in her eighth season at KCKCC. Also an assistant coach is Paloma Juarez, in her fourth season.
Head coach
Mary Bruno (6th season)
Assistant coaches
Dee Bruno (8th season)
Paloma Juarez (4th season)
Managers
Lexi Nick, Katie Roberts
Athletic director
Tony Tompkins
Kansas City Kansas Community College
2016 Volleyball Schedule
Aug. 23 – Neosho Tri-Match (Chanute) 4 & 6 p.m.
Aug. 27 – Battle for the Dells (Wisconsin Dells, WI.) 9 & 11 a.m.
Aug.28 – Battle for the Dells (Wisconsin Dells, WI.) 9 & 11 a.m.
Aug. 31 – Johnson County*, Away 5:30 p.m.
Sept. 7 – Highland*, Away 5:30 p.m.
Sept. 9 – Pasco Hernando (New Port Richey, Fla.) 11 a.m., 5 p.m.
Sept. 10 – Pasco Hernando (New Port Richey, Fla.) 10 a.m., 2 p.m.
Sept. 14 – COWLEY COLLEGE*, Home` 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 21 – HESSTON+, Home 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 23 – KCKCC TOURNAMENT 3 & 7 p.m.
Sept. 24 – KCKCC TOURNAMENT 1 & 5 p.m.
Sept. 26 – Independence*, Away 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 30 – JCCC Tournament (Overland Park) 2 & 6 p.m.
Oct. 1 – JCCC Tournament (Overland Park) 9 a.m., 1 p.m.
Oct. 5 – ALLEN COUNTY*, Home 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 7 – Central Nebraska Tournament (Columbus) 2 & 6 p.m.
Oct. 8 – Central Nebraska Tournament (Columbus) 9 a.m., 1 p.m.
Oct. 12 – COFFEYVILLE*, Home 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 19 – NEOSHO COUNTY*, Home 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 21 – LONGVIEW, Home 6 p.m.
Oct. 26 – Fort Scott*, Away 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 1 – Labette*, Away 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 5 – Region VI Playoffs TBA
Nov.17-19 – NJCAA National Tournament (Charleston, W. Va.)