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Bounty of freshman have turned around Rockford volleyball | North Iowa High School Volleyball

It is one of the most common chants from a high school student section.

The “She’s a freshman” cheer always happens when a newcomer to the varsity scene goes on a roll of kills, points or anything of that nature. Most instances, it happens a handful of times over the course of a competition.

For Rockford’s volleyball team, it might be the most common chant.

There are seven freshmen on the Warriors roster and four of them are starters with two others having played a handful of sets. The other is a setter who may be starting in the near future.

“They’re athletic, everybody knows that, it’s not a secret,” Rockford head coach Makaela Hoffman said. “It is kind of a spark.

Even with the high amount of youth, the warriors are off to a 7-2 start and could nab their first winning season since 2018 and just their second over the last decade-plus.

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These aren’t just freshmen making little impact, either.

Hannah Hillman leads Rockford in kills with 64. Danika deBuhr, paces its net presence with 12 total blocks, four of them solo. Libero Jaylah Schriever is at 114 digs while deBuhr and Hillman each have a serving percentage over 90.

“It’s what we were hoping for,” deBuhr said. “A lot of us thought it would (translate) into high school. We’ve been playing together for so long.”

Most of these freshmen were catalysts in having Rockford’s softball program net a six-win season this summer as eighth graders, a four-win improvement from 2019 and 2020.

Now, it is volleyball that has allowed the success to flow through.

“I’m very proud of us,” deBuhr said. “Some expected it and others were just hoping.”

The seven of them have been playing volleyball together throughout the AAU circuit growing up. Still, there is the adjustment of playing with a new setter in senior McKinnley Hoffman.

There hasn’t been any problems.

“When people come to you and say ‘Oh gosh, she’s really improved. Her sets are spot on,'” Coach Hoffman said. “She knows how to mix it up. She’s really led the team.”

McKinnley Hoffman, Camden Kuhlemeier and Loren Fierova have been the main stays in Rockford’s rotation. That trifecta has been through a handful of down years in their prep careers.

They are now experiencing a season of, to this point, a lot more winning.

“I really can’t say enough good about them,” Coach Hoffman said.

Freshman mistakes still pop up at times. And a handful of them were magnified in the Warriors four-set defeat against Newman Catholic on Thursday night.

Passing and serving received were far from crisp. Most times when McKinnley Hoffman set, it was not in system. It took away the middle, but deBuhr and Ava Koenigsfeld still combined for 14 kills.

Hillman led with 11 kills.

“She can read the ball well,” Coach Hoffman said of Hillman. “I’d hate to guess (how good she’ll be).”

In most if not all of Rockford’s rotations, Coach Hoffman is putting two or three freshmen in the back row. She’s willing to accept the growing pains that come with it.

“They don’t play like freshman, but at times they make a few freshman mistakes,” she said. “That’s going to happen. As long as we learn from them and move on, that’s all that matters.”

Through nine matches, the Warriors have yet to play a team with a winning record. North Iowa is 4-4 as the closest team they have beaten with an above .500 record.

Their schedule gets much tougher.

At the Central Springs weekend tournament on Saturday, Rockford will face a fellow seven-win team in Lake Mills plus get a rematch with Newman Catholic and battle Central Springs.

St Ansgar and Class 3A No. 10 Osage awaits at the end of September.

“Just keep up the energy, keep high attitude,” deBuhr said.

Coach Hoffman is far from concerned about a potential derailment of a season after one loss and a difficult tournament where her squad will play five matches in the span of five-to-six hours.

“We could let this break us down, but we’re not going to,” she said.

Zach Martin is a sports reporter for the Globe Gazette. Reach him via email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @zach_martin95.

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