Ready or not, the Yuma High School volleyball team’s 2023 season begins Saturday.
The varsity will be at the Kit Carson Fall Fling (though there still is more than one month of summer left). Yuma is in Pool A with Wiggins and Wiley, while Simla, Kit Carson and Akron are in Pool B.
Yuma opens its season at 9 a.m. against Wiley, then will play Wiggins at approximately 12 noon.
The teams then will play one cross-bracket match, with the top teams from each pool playing each other, and the same with the second and third seeds.
Yuma began official preseason practices last Monday, August 7, and now are jumping into it on August 19. The players have been practicing in the auxiliary gym as final work is being done on The Pit after a HVAC system was installed over the summer.
“I wish we had another week before Kit Carson, but the group that I’m taking is the same group that went to Alamosa,” coach Jamie Robinson said, referencing a summer camp the team attended last month. “It’ll be nice once we can get in The Pit to split teams up more.”
She added, though, that the Kit Carson tournament will be a good opener for the team.
Robinson has said she has a diverse group of players this season, who are capable of playing multiple positions. She said this week she is not sure of a varsity lineup this early in the process.
“It may be a revolving door for awhile,” Robinson said. “The girls need to earn that spot and be able to perform and get results.”
That means there should be plenty of good competition in practice, which sharpens everybody.
Seniors out for the team this year include Jailyn Mekelburg, Caddis Robinson, Emma Rayl, Izzie Young, Cheyenne McCreath, Natalia Serrano and Ashley Ibanez, who ran cross country the previous three fall seasons. Returning players who saw varsity action last year include juniors Chloe Smith, Alina Moran and Elizabeth Mendoza, along with sophomore Lauren Gonzales. Plus, there are several more junior and sophomores preparing to move up the ladder, and there also is a strong freshman class.
The roster includes Bailey Nighswonger, Jade Lungwitz, Braylynn Armstron, Aubrey Black, Novalee Schuetz, Carolina Ross, Bryar Chrismer, Mariana Reyes, Layla Glanz, Stephanny Carrasco, Avery Langley, Emory McClaran, Maya Vasquez, Camila Rodriguez, Berkley Nighswonger, Dayna Arteaga, Ximena Varela, Madi Rahm, Addison Armstrong, Zuleika Parra Garcia, Taryn Mekelburg, Taryn Sheffield, Brittany Wolfe, Addie Baucke, Kinslee Brandon, Mayline Gayton and Lindsey Hermasillo.
Yuma went 12-13 in 2022, and came one win away at regional from advancing to the Class 2A State Tournament.
Qualifying for the postseason remains the same this year with the top 36 teams in the final Rating Percentage Index advancing to regional, with the top 12 teams hosting a three-team regional to determine the field for the double-elimination state field.
Robinson said she is unsure at this point how the season will point out but she has optimism.
“Why not us?” she said. “I think these girls have the potential to make some noise.”
