John Raffel
Sports Scene
Mount Pleasant’s volleyball team has put some impressive talent on the court this season and the result has been a very talented squad.
Coach Ali Smith’s team was 35-10 entering the final full week of October.
“We’re having a really great season,” she said. “We’ve had some kids step up who have a lot of experience. We’ve had a lot of young kids step up also.”
Four players, two seniors and two juniors have high hitting percentages.
“I feel the offense is pretty well spread out,” Smith said. “We also pass really well. Those things combined is a major reason for our success so far.”
The team’s top hitter has been Camden Odykirk, a senior, who is hitting.358. She leads in blocks and is a three-year starter and captain.
“She’s done a great job this year in a leadership role,” Smith said. “We are better when she’s on the floor.”
Junior transfer Ashley Alford is another key player.
“She moved to Mount Pleasant this summer,” Smith said. “She is hitting .227 for the season. She leads the team in service aces with 71, which is almost double what anyone else is done. She comes from a great volleyball background and is kind of a student of the game. She understands the game very well.”
Kolbey Boyd is a sophomore libero.
“She has jumped into that position and has 364 digs this season, which is more than twice what anyone else does,” Smith said. “Her ability to control the back row has been super important, especially keeping these girls in high hitting percentages.”
The squad has done a good job “of competing against and beating the teams we should beat,” Smith said. “There’s a couple of teams we’re looking to take out. We’re really in a position where we need to get over the hump and compete a just a little higher level to achieve the things we’ve set out to achieve this year, to win our district and win our region.
“In districts, we play Midland Dow in the first round.”