TONTOGANY – Last season’s Suburban Lakes League championship and trip to the district finals weren’t
enough to satisfy Otsego’s volleyball team.
Instead, the Knights are just as motivated and just as determined this season.
Otsego returns seven letter winners – including four All-SLL performers – from last season when it was
19-5 overall and 13-1 in the league. "We’re going to have to push ourselves even harder this season
to get what we want because the other teams are going to give us a great challenge," said Otsego
senior Baley Bernthisel, a 5-foot-10 hitter and one of the letter winners.
Bernthisel and senior Autumn Berry were first-team All-SLL picks, and classmates Ashley Holzwart and
Katelyn Downing were named to the second-team. Also returning are senior Chelsea Bollenbacher, junior
Karessia Rowell and sophomore Hannah Greulich.
Otsego’s season ended in the Division III district final with a 25-18, 25-17, 25-19 loss to eventual
regional champion Lima Central Catholic.
"We want to pick up where we left off last year … winning the league again, getting back to
districts and going farther in the tournament," said Berry, whose setting produced 724 assists last
season.
"We’re going to have to push ourselves even harder because our goals are even higher," the 6-2
Bollenbacher said.
But the Knights face a different challenge this season. Although Otsego figured to be much improved last
season, it wasn’t the favorite to win the SLL after finishing 11-14 overall and fifth in the league in
2007.
Now, Otsego is the clear-cut favorite to win the SLL and it’ll face every team’s best effort in its
league and non-league matches. The team won its last 11 SLL matches last season.
"We’re trying to take it one match at a time," said Downing, a defensive specialist who is the
leader of the team’s back row. "If we do that, everything else will take care of itself. You can’t
worry about anything but the next match. If you look too far ahead, that’s when you can lose and not
work hard."
The Knights have been working hard since the end of last season in anticipation of the season, starting
with tonight’s opener against Genoa. The team’s core played Junior Olympic volleyball, lifted weights
and had open gyms during the summer.
"I’m definitely encouraged by what I’ve seen. We’re playing pretty well," said Otsego coach
Cheryl Jones, who is in her 26th season. "But our greatest challenge lies within and how well they
can handle the pressure we’ll face."
"It was one thing working to go up the ladder. Now, it’s a whole different story. We’re going to
push them to get even better this season and you can either rise to the occasion and come with me, or
you can get out."
Jones, who guided Otsego to a state title in 1992, said the Knights must
replace the leadership of last year’s seniors, Stephanie Kaiser, Kylee Phillips and Kacey Podolak.
"They really set a standard, and demanded greatness from the underclassmen and held everyone on the
team accountable," Jones said. "They were very committed, very passionate and they were
extremely hard working. These girls have some big shoes to fill."
The seniors have been playing together since the seventh grade. Berry, Bernthisel and Holzwart are
four-year letter winners, while Downing is a three-year letter winner.
"We’re all good friends. We do stuff on and off the court, that really helps," Holzwart said.
"We all love the game and we all want to work as hard as we can to reach our goals. We already have
that bond and that makes you want to work even harder and do well for the team because they’re your
friends."
Like last season, the Knights believe they’re solid in every phase of the game.
"Our all-around game is the best part of our game," said Bernthisel, who totaled 279 kills, 111
digs, 61 blocks, and 36 aces season. "We have some things to improve on, but we do a lot of things
well. We just need to continue to work hard and improve."
And they have a good mix of skills individually.
"We all have our strengths and weaknesses, but as a group, we mesh together really well,"
Holzwart said.
"Everyone is a piece of the puzzle and knows what their role is," Jones said.