The third year for the Belleville West boys volleyball team is shaping up to be the best yet.
West was 8-11 last season, including a 4-6 mark in the Southwestern Conference. The Maroons lost to Althoff in the regional final.
"It was the second year of our program and we were still pretty young," West coach Austin Betz said. "Of our 11 losses, five of them were to Althoff and O'Fallon, who had programs well before we did. Taking that away, we were 8-6 against other teams that were comparable to us."
The Maroons return five of seven starters.
"In this game, experience is a huge factor," Betz said. "We had six guys that played club volleyball this year, either for Southern Heat or Club Vertical. Getting those touches during the offseason and being around the game is really helpful."
Senior Patrick McLean, who began last season as an outside hitter, returns at setter.
"He's been around the game probably more than anybody else on the team," Betz said. "His sisters played while he was growing up and he was always around the gym. I have a lot of confidence in him running the offense."
Senior Ryan Howard is an outside hitter and led the team in kills last season, while senior middle hitter Charles Jones led the team in blocks.
"Ryan is also a great defensive player and plays all the way around," Betz said. "Charles worked with me during the offseason and he's improved incredibly. He'll be a force in the middle this year."
The other returning starters are senior right side hitter Zac Zeiter and junior libero Austin Pavlak.
"Zac is a 6-2 lefty and he hits the ball hard," Betz said. "Last year was his first year of volleyball after playing baseball for a couple years and he came on pretty strong at the end of last season, so I think we'll be going to him a lot.
"Austin has been starting for us since his freshman year and he's one of the best passers I've ever seen. He does a great job of running the defense."
Stepping into the starting lineup are senior outside hitter Johnson Simmons and senior middle hitter James Owens.
"Johnson played JV for us last year and he has a lot of things to learn, but he has a lot of potential," Betz said. "James is in his first year playing volleyball, but he's 6-3 and he moves well and he's picking up the game quickly."
Junior middle/right side hitter Stephen Hinkle (another former baseball player) and freshman middle/right side hitter Cade Dibadj round out the top nine in the varsity rotation.
West opened the season with wins over East St. Louis, North Tech and O'Fallon before losing to Belleville East on Thursday. The Maroons play Tuesday at Granite City.
"Our conference is going to be tough this year, but we feel we can be one of the top teams," Betz said. "We also want to have a winning record, which would be a first for our program."
"We're in a regional this year that I feel we can win, and that's something else we haven't done yet."
