PENDLETON — When the final point was counted against Starpoint Wednesday, there was disappointment from Grand Island. But before they left, clapping could be heard from the corner of the gym where the Vikings were meeting after a strong finish.
After trailing 11-3 in the final set, the Vikings rallied and brought the deficit to 14-13 after sophomore Layla Oursler’s near-side kill. Starpoint sealed the five-set win off a misdirect hit but the Vikings still have larger goals they want to accomplish.
After all, Grand Island is coming off a season where it won or earned a share of the Niagara Frontier League for the third time in four years and earned the No. 1 seed in the Class A postseason. But the Vikings season ended in the semifinals with a loss to Williamsville East, finishing 19-1 overall.
But heading into this season, Grand Island returns seven players, including six seniors. The Vikings are looking to improve in all aspects of the games but also use last year’s success as momentum towards winning their first Section VI championship in program history.
“We just need to be confident in ourselves and I think we get down,” Grand Island senior outside hitter Jelena Simic said. “(As) soon as we feel like we’re getting down, we just keep going down. So we just have to work on getting up and just being confident, for sure. That’s what makes us a team.”
Heading into the season, Starpoint was the only non-league opponent on Grand Island’s schedule. But while competing in the Niagara Frontier League, Grand Island faces two Class AA schools in Niagara Wheatfield and Lockport as well as fellow Class A school North Tonawanda.
Head coach Johnathan Head thought he was retired after the 2018 — aside from returning to fill in for former coach Amy Boutet, who was on maternity leave in 2021 — but he’s back at the helm and he knows Hamburg and Williamsville East and South are usually in the mix for the Class A title. But with previous experience finishing as Class A runners-up three times since 2009, Head and the Vikings aren’t looking too far ahead.
“It’s going to be a long battle,” Head said. “We got a long way to go before we’re worried about that sectional but all our goals are still in front of us. And we can fight for the league and we can fight for the section and that’s what we’re going to keep doing.”
And with the experience Head and his players have, the Vikings are looking to rely on that factor to help them as the season progresses. The seven returnees alone averaged 26.7 kills per contest and made up 41.9% of the team’s total last year.
But going into this season, while getting acclimated to Head, the Vikings are preparing to rely on their chemistry that began last season and carried over into the offseason. The team began summer workouts with Head in July.
“It’s everybody being (at) their best at the right time so it’s constant,” Head said. “… They got good attitudes, and they’re willing to try different things. And even when I say, why’d you do it that way? We can have that discussion (about) what they did in the past or what I want to see, but they’re always open to it. I’m open to what they’ve already learned.”