Having returning players doesn’t always translate into a team enjoying success.
You could ask any member of the 2007 Chicago White Sox about that — many of whom were present when the team won the World Series less than two years ago.

But Glenbard West’s volleyball team believes that won’t be the case this year.
Nine players return from what was a young team last year. The youth was evident in 2006 as the Hilltoppers watched as several three-game matches go the other way.

“I think we had about eight matches that could have gone the other way,” head coach Pete Mastandrea said. “Traditionally it’s been tough to get wins in volleyball here. We’re hoping we could move up a notch.”

Just as a good quarterback can make all the difference in football, so too can a setter in volleyball, and the Hilltoppers have a good one in Amy Kendall.

The 6-foot-1 junior is being courted by several college programs, and she shares her coach’s belief that this is the season where the Hilltoppers can return to the prominence they had in the early 1980s (when they won a state title in 1983) and as recently as a few years ago when Division I prospects took the floor.

“I think we have a lot more people to help us out,” Kendall said. “There are more seniors starting and they help because they’ve been there before. We practiced over the summer and started getting better and better in the summer league.”

For the Hilltoppers to make last season a distant memory, they will need Kendall to play a major role.

“It’s her time to put the team on her shoulders,” Mastandrea said of Kendall. “I expect her to guide this team as a coach on the floor.”

Glenbard West already achieved a modicum of success over the summer. Mastandrea noted that the Hilltoppers went 0-2 in the bronze division of a summer tournament in 2006, which portended a season of struggles last fall. This year, however, they won the silver championship which means good things could be just around the corner.

“I really think so,” Kendall said when asked if summer success can carry over to the fall. “Last summer didn’t go well and it showed in the fall. We were better this summer and we’re going to play a lot of the same teams.”

While the Hilltoppers won’t wow teams with towering height, they may sneak up on opponents and steal some wins with strong serving and scrappy defense.

“I think many of the teams we play are great programs,” Mastandrea said. “If we can get past a few of those teams and win some of those ones that went the other way, and beat the same teams we beat last year, it could be an interesting year.”

Just looking at the lineup stresses that point. In addition to Kendall, sophomore Emily Gitter is a top-notch setter, and no matter which one takes the bulk of the assists they will have some powerful hitters to set.

Glenbard West looks strong up the middle with the return of seniors Emily Lombardi, Ally Motel and Andrea Roberts, but senior Liz Lombardi and freshman Laura Luczak possess enough skill keep opposing defenses honest, which plays into Kendall’s hands.

“I have to be able to know what’s going on on the court and be able to tell people what to run,” she said. “I think I can.”

While Mastandrea and his players expect improvement, they’re not aiming too high.
“The year before I got here there were four Division I prospects. The program has been deficient and it’s a process to get it going again,” the coach said. “We’re not going to win 30 games, but if we’re in a position to win more games than we lose we’ll be pleased.

“The know the direction we’re trying to go and they’re working real hard as a group to get there. They maintain a continuous desire and willingness to be great team players.”