When the Munising Mustang volleyball team hits the court this weekend, the team won’t have a lot of experience. The ’Stangs have just one senior – an athlete that didn’t play the sport last season – and a number of call ups from the JV squad in 2022.
Given the circumstances, the name of the game isn’t volleyball anymore.
It’s education.
“Our goal is to learn a lot quickly and see how good we can become,” said Munising Head Coach Josh Cole. “We’re pretty young and inexperienced.”
Cole said the team will start out in a 5-1 offense with the goal of moving to a 6-2 if circumstances allow. The Mustangs lost its setter, so all attacks will run through a true freshman passer in Carissa Deatsman to start the season. According to Cole, Deatsman has the confidence of the coaching staff to push the attack.
“(Deatsman)’s been pretty fantastic so far as a setting option. She’s looked good in camps this summer,” Cole said.
What the Mustangs do have coming back is strength in the middle.
Dayne Behning and Bailey Corcoran will be back at middle hitters to spark the offense. The pair of athletes have made significant marks in basketball and track seasons, but now the two are tasked with being the leaders on the volleyball court.
Both were excited about the opportunity to lead a team that was excited to play.
“We lost a lot of talent last season and had some great seniors, but now we just need to work together,” Behning said.
The captains said the team isn’t just learning to play the game at a higher level, but also looking to learn how to play with each other in a more relaxed way.
“Last year was rigid,” Corcoran said. “We weren’t playing as a team, but we’re already starting to come together this year. There’s an excitement to it all.”
The Mustangs will start their season this Saturday with the Mustang Invitational, bringing eight teams to the two-court set up in the Munising Middle/High School gymnasium. The teams will be divided into two groups for pool play before advancing to a fourteam single elimination tournament for the title.
