MILLBURY—Lake volleyball opened the season 0-3, but don’t count them out of anything yet.

The Flyers fell at Springfield in the season opener on Aug. 19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 26-24, at Clay on Monday, 14-25, 24-26, 26-24, 25-11, 10-15, and at Liberty-Benton on Thursday, 14-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 15-9.

To lose to those teams may be a moral victory to some, but not to the Flyers and ninth-year coach Amy Vorst.

All three are statewide perennial powers in their own divisions and leagues, and Lake had to hit the road to play all three. Even to take these teams to five sets and be competitive in nearly every set is saying something.

In the opener at Clay’s Harold Potter Field House, Lake senior outside hitter and setter Taryn DeWese led the Flyers with 20 kills and four blocks (one solo), freshman Calli Conley had three aces, senior libero Sydney Stanley had 21 digs, and senior outside hitter Vayda Delventhal had 22 assists and 12 digs.

At Springfield, DeWese led Lake 23 kills, Delventhal had 11 kills and 21 digs, and Stanley had 29 digs.

In Vorst’s first year at Lake, the Flyers were 5-18, and last year the Flyers finished 25-1. Overall, Vorst is 135-58.

An Eastwood graduate who led her team to a state championship while in high school, she coached one year (2002) at her alma mater, taking the Eagles to the regional finals.

Now, her Lake teams have won three straight Northern Buckeye Conference titles and are working on their fourth.

When the Flyers won the NBC title in 2020, it was the first time Lake had won a league volleyball championship since 1976.

Last year’s team was a perfect 14-0 in the league. Vorst is confident her team can be in the running for a league title again.

“I would like to finish at the top of the league again this year,” Vorst said. “We have experienced players along with talented young players that help us make us competitive.

“I know Eastwood is very strong this year. They are huge and always have great defense. All in all, I think all teams in our league will be stronger than last year and will all be great competition.”

There is one caveat — the Flyers lost 51% of their offense from last year to graduation.

“I wouldn’t call that a weakness, but more of a challenge to our hitters to control the ball and hit shots,” Vorst said.

“I think our strengths this season will be better defense than we’ve had in past years. We also have two very dynamic outside hitters and setters that help us offensively.”

Reigning Player of Year returns

Vorst has nine letter winners returning, including DeWese, Delventhal, Stanley, junior middle hitter Keira Magers and junior defensive specialist Sydney Marchetto.

DeWese is the reigning NBC Player of the Year and a first team selection in the NBC and District 7, and as a sophomore and junior, she was first team All-NBC and second team District 7. Last year, DeWese had 56 aces, six solo blocks, 17 block assists, 330 assists, and 281 digs.

Delventhal was first team All-NBC and District 7 last year, second team All-NBC two years ago, and second team All-NBC and honorable mention District 7 in 2020. Delventhal had 37 aces, 101 kills, one solo block, eight block assists, 479 assists on kills, and 304 digs last year.

Stanley was first team All-NBC and second team District 7 last year, and first team All-NBC and HM District 7 two years ago. Magers was HM All-NBC last year. Stanley had 27 aces, two kills, 116 assists, 379 digs last year.

DeWese, Delventhal, and Magers (107 kills) return as Vorst’s top hitters, and Delventhal and DeWese are the ones who set them up for the kill.

“Taryn and Vayda are both outside hitters who are intelligent and understand the game well,” Vorst said. “They can both pound the ball, but also place it well. Keira has improved greatly as a middle hitter and I’m looking for a big season from her.

“Our top setters will be Vayda Delventhal and Taryn DeWese. They have run our offense for the last three years, and I trust them to get the ball where it needs to go.”

DeWese has committed to set at NCAA Division I Vanderbilt, and Delventhal has committed to Cleveland State, also D-I, to be a defensive specialist.

“These two have dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort to become high level players capable of being successful at the next level,” Vorst said.

Stanley, as libero, is the one digging out the other team’s kills.

“I don’t think there is a better libero in the league,” Vorst said. “She is a great defender and serve receive passer. I also expect junior, Sydney Marchetto, to be a top defender along with freshmen Calli Conley and Lucy Boos.

“These girls train at a high level and give all-out effort defensively. Our setters Taryn DeWese and Vayda Delventhal are also top defenders, finishing in the top four in the NBC last season in digs.”

Vorst has a foursome who are capable of putting any team on its heels from the get-go of every point.

“I think our top servers will be Taryn DeWese, Vayda Delventhal, Calli Conley, and Sydney Marchetto,” Vorst said. “They know how to serve flat and clean and have the confidence to hit the spots they’re given.”

Vorst says her underclassmen are already showing they can play with anyone.

“I’d say all of our players have improved from last year,” Vorst said. “Sydney Marchetto and Keira Magers both stand out as much more confident and dynamic than last season.

“I think that freshmen Calli Conley, Lucy Boos, and Mylah Vorst will all get plenty of court time on varsity. Mylah is a middle hitter that has trained at a very high level and I’m looking forward to seeing her block well for us.

“Calli and Lucy also trained at high level and have high volleyball IQs for freshman. They have great court awareness and give all-out effort defensively.”