The Big Sandy Volleyball team consists of (L-R): back row; Senior Caitlin Bailey (manager), Junior Dakota Terry, Junior Jenna Leader, Junior Andrea Rutledge, Junior Jessica Roth, Junior Jasmine Genereux, Sophomore Jaylyn Cline, Sophomore Georgia Wortman, Senior Alex Richter, front row; Freshman Stacey Allderdice, Freshman Seanna Demontiney, Freshman Hope Gasvoda, Freshman Lainey Gregory, Freshman Bailey Gasvoda, Junior Cally Demontiney, Sophomore Grace Finke, and Freshman Abby Henly (not pictured).
Junior Jenna Leader
Junior Jessica Roth
The Big Sandy Pioneer Volleyball enters the 2016 campaign under the direction of new Head Coach Shersteen Cline.
Cline should be familiar to those folks within the community and who follow Pioneer athletics. A 2008 Big Sandy High School graduate Cline first attended the University of Montana before transferring to Montana Tech her sophomore year.
Cline played volleyball for the NAIA Frontier Conference Orediggers for four years prior to graduating in 2013.
From there she took over as head coach of the Nashua Porcupines and guided them the past two seasons. In Nashua Cline directed a team that hadn't advanced past the district tournament for several years to two straight divisional tournament appearances.
The Big Sandy Pioneer volleyball team has been through a bit of a rough patch the past few years and it would seem that Cline is the right person to take the team in a new direction.
Alex Richter is the lone senior on a team that also has six juniors to lean on for leadership. They are Dakota Terry, Jenna Leader, Andrea Rutledge, Jessica Roth, Jasmin Genereux and Cally Demontiney.
Sophomores out this fall are Jaylyn Cline, Georgia Wortman, and Grace Finke. All three played as freshman will look to help the team however they can.
New to the program this fall are six freshman. Stacey Allderdice, Seanna Demontiney, Bailey Gasvoda, Lainey Gregory, Hope Gasvoda and Abby Henly.
The girls have been in the gym and working hard for the fast couple of weeks in preparation for their first competition of the season this past weekend.
The older kids have seen plenty of varsity action the past few years and their experience is being past on to the newcomers, "With six freshman, and 1 senior we are young but that means lots of potential," Cline stated. She went on to say, "The older kids have been doing a great job of being patient and walking the younger kids through the rotations so that has been really good."
With a new coach comes change. The rotations may be different, the passing attack could vary a little but Cline is the third coach in three years and these girls have learned to adapt.
"There have been a few bumps in the road but thats to be expected, but they all have been working really hard and its been exciting to see."
Cline's own experience at the college level and being a Pioneer herself makes for a player/coach combination that has a very good chance of being successful.
"With our being young there certainly is a lot of room for growth and improvement but we expect to be competitive every match, we hope to improve every match, learn from every match and put ourselves in a position, come playoff time, to extend our season"
Big Sandy is part of the District 6C-East along with the Box Elder Bears, Chinook Sugarbeeters, North Star Knights, Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks.
After qualifying three teams for the Northern C Divisional the past two seasons the District will only send two because of scheduled roation among the 6C-East, 6C-West and the 7C.
