Sophomore Arica Shepard expected the Emporia State volleyball team’s six incoming freshmen to not say much and perhaps be a little quiet to start out the season.
Turns out she didn’t have to worry. Not only do the freshmen talk, sometimes they won’t shut up.
“They tell us what they think of us,” Shepard said with a smile. “They have no problem talking on the court or anything.
“They’re giving us a little attitude, but we give it right back.”
It’s that assertiveness by the new players that has ESU coach Bing Xu excited in what has to be considered a rebuilding year for his team. The Hornets have eight newcomers on the roster and just six returners from a team that finished 15-16 a year ago.
Xu admitted his biggest concern was that with the influx of new players, his team might not mesh well together.
But, through just one week of three-a-day practices, most of those doubts have disappeared.
“I’m really happy,” Xu said. “You can see the chemistry starting to build up right now. That’s really good.”
Xu has also seen his share of talent.
Shepard returns after taking MIAA freshman of the year honors, and a few other Hornets look like they could make a run for the award this year.
One of those freshmen is Brianne Boner — a six-footer from Omaha, Neb. — who has impressed from her spot at middle hitter.
“She’s a great player,” Xu said. “Physically, she can jump, and she’s really quick on the net. You don’t have to talk about effort. She’s everywhere on the net.”
“I think Bri stands out a lot,” sophomore Amy Byfield said.
“She’s really aggressive at the net and really explosive in everything she does.”
Another is multi-sport star Brittney Miller, who also will compete for ESU as a women’s basketball player after being offered Division-I scholarships in both volleyball and basketball.
The Paola product will be one of the Hornets’ right-side hitters after showing her tremendous athletic ability.
“She’s a heck of a jumper,” Xu said. “She jumps very, very high.”
“Brittney — she’s going to be a stud,” Shepard said. “She has ups like no other. Once she’s a little more controlled — she knows that — she’ll be a stud.”
Freshman setters Addie Petersen and Ting Liu also have made strong impressions.
Petersen comes in from Chanute High School, while Liu presents tremendous size for a setter at 6-foot-1.
Xu said he was pleased with how vocal Liu had been during practices. She is in her first season with ESU after taking a redshirt last year to focus on learning English.
Both Petersen and Liu should be able to be see the court at the same time in Xu’s 6-2 formation.
Megan Koster also should receive immediate playing time after transferring in from Hutchinson Community College.
The 5-10 outside hitter already has become one of the team’s captains.
“She’s probably one of the calmest, most mature ones out of us all,” Shepard said.
Xu believes this team has shown signs of having the toughness that he desires.
The coach called out his team a few times last season for not having the competitiveness he wanted.
He said he didn’t foresee it being a problem after watching his newcomers in drills this year.
“Whenever we have competition drills, they step up,” Xu said. “You know there’s fire in their eyes. That’s really good and the kind of character I want to see from them.”
The coach might have a young team, but that does not mean he isn’t expecting results from it this year.
ESU was picked sixth in the preseason coaches poll, but Xu said he was expecting more.
“Our ranking is just OK. We all think we can do better than that,” Xu said. “This year is still kind of the building year with this team, but I think we can make something happen if our mind and our mentality is there.”
With no seniors on the squad, Shepard said the ingredients were present for a special team to develop.
“This,” Shepard said, “will definitely be the start of something good.”