The dog days of summer are here, but excitement is building in Forestville as the El Molino volleyball team prepares for the upcoming fall season.
With radical league realignment set to take effect, the Lions figure to be among the top teams in the Redwood Division, a league that will include Elsie Allen, Healdsburg, Piner, Rancho Cotate and Ukiah.
“I’m very excited for the league realignment, it puts us with teams with a record very much like our own,” said El Molino coach Becky Sani, whose daughter is on the team. “This will keep most matches close, making them more exciting. Our program has been improving over the last few years and I look forward to being very competitive in the new Redwood Division.”
The Lions, who finished with an overall mark of 8-16 last year, including a trip to the North Coast Section playoffs, will feature a strong core of varsity returnees that include senior defensive specialist Grace Anderson, junior outside hitters Sasha Senal, Kassidy Sani and Sara Woolsey, sophomore setter Grace McCormick and sophomore outside hitter Yasmin Sierra.
“All of our returning varsity players have played with the Empire Volleyball Club for the past six months,” Sani reported. “For the first time in many years we also have a large amount of JV and freshmen club players on my rosters. In the world of volleyball, having players with that kind of experience makes a program so much stronger.”
With realignment, El Molino and Analy will compete in different divisions for the first time, as the Tigers play in the ultra competitive Oak Division. Although the traditional rivalries in the Apple classic competition won’t do battle in league play, they will meet in the preseason.
“Since we’ve always had such a strong rivalry against Analy we have scheduled a preseason match against them,” Sani noted. “We couldn’t just let the Apple Game die, there is too much tradition there.”
While the rivalry with the Tigers may have cooled a bit, the Lions may turn to another one that has been heating up for the last several years.
“We’ve been building a rivalry with Healdsburg called the “Battle for the Paddle,” Sani pointed out. “Our volleyball match and football game against the Hounds fall during the same week this year so that will make for fun school spirit activities.”
As for the possibility of competing for their first league volleyball title since 2003, the Lions will have their eyes on the prize.
“That’s our goal this year, to put a pennant on our wall,” Sani said. “I’ve built this program step by step and this year our goal is to become the best serve receive and defensive team and the win a pennant. We have a lot of work to do so I can’t wait to for August 6 (first official NCS practice day) to get here.”
