The Wildcats varsity volleyball team is amping up for the 2017 season and they have big plans, according to Head Coach Brian Kim.

The team of 15, with five returning athletes, played several games on Aug. 26– one against West Bloomfield and one against Walled Lake Northern.

In the game against Bloomfield, the teams tied with a 1-1 score. Sydney Richter led the team with eight aces and added three kills. Elle Wright led the team with five kills, McKenzie Miller led the team with nine digs. Kalli Mulholland and Rachel Gubesch tied with 10 assists.

The Cats also tied with Walled Lake with a 1-1 score that day. Maddy Weiss led the team with five kills, seven digs. McKenzie Miller added seven digs and Rachel Gubesch led the team with 11 assists.

Oxford also beat Berkley with a 2-0 score Aug. 26.

During that game, Elle Wright led the team with five aces, seven kills and five digs. Kalli Mulholland added 11 assists and McKenzie Miller added 11 digs.

The Wildcats are now 2-7-2 overall on the season.

The OAA red-division team is training hard to edge out the competition this season, according to Kim.

“As the head coach, our goal for the OHS varsity team is for our team to get better every day. We’re in a tough division, so we will have to work hard to compete with the other teams in our tough conference.”

Since he began training with the Cats, Kim said he has come to recognize one particular quality which will likely help the team succeed on the court.

“Our team’s biggest strength is (each of our) player’s desire to compete and working together as a team. The season is still young, but we can see our players starting to get comfortable together on the court and understand their responsibilities,” said Kim.

Among the team’s current standout athletes, Kim listed four athletes to look for on the court.

Kim listed senior setter Kalli Mulholland as one of those athletes. “Kalli has a natural leadership quality and knows how to lead her teammates. She works extremely hard and sets high standards for herself and the team,” said Kim.

Kim also listed senior middle Elle Wright as a stand-out Wildcat.

“Elle is our returning varsity middle and is our strongest attacker on the team. She understands how to earn points and hit around blocks,” Kim said.

Junior DS/Libero McKenzie Miller was also listed by Kim among the top athletes, alongside sophomore OH Maddy Weiss.

“McKenzie is a multi-sport athlete (volleyball and softball) and she sets the tone for our team with energy and effort,” Kim said. “She never takes a play off and never backs down from competition. She believes in her ability and athleticism to make the plays necessary on the court. Maddy has the ability to play all positions on the court and has a high volleyball IQ. She is our primary outside hitter this season and plays with great passion.”

According to Kim, the Wildcats will be keeping their heads in the game and will strive to improve in all aspects of the game as they continue through the season.

“We’re working to improve all aspects of the game from serving, passing, setting, and attacking. We’ve seen tremendous growth over the last couple of weeks, so we’re excited to see what the next few months entail.”