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St. Luke's Varsity Volleyball: Season Preview
St. Luke’s Volleyball heads into the upcoming season with a new head coach, who hopes to make his mark for the Storm.
Garrett Minyard, promoted from assistant coach, is excited to implement a new style of play that he is confident will benefit the program for years to come: “Our style of play is going to be fast-paced. Tactically, it’s great, but technically it takes a lot of work. You have to get the technical aspects in place, so you have the control to play at a faster level. We want to create a unique system for St. Luke’s Volleyball, which will distinguish our team and bolster its performance.”
Minyard has been extremely pleased with how his group has been working during the first few weeks and encouraged by the work ethic shown: “Preseason has been really good. We are trying t different things, but the players are buying in and open to new approaches. They are learning and getting a little bit better every day, due to their hard work..”
The Storm is captained by Kaleigh Bowler ‘20 and Elyse Kim ‘21, and Minyard is thrilled with how they have taken to their roles: “Kaleigh and Elyse take the lead every day at the start of practice and remind the group that this is another opportunity to get better. We have been talking since the summer about our expectations for the team this season. The biggest priorities are to keep the team engaged in achieving its goals and to stay focused every day. They have been doing an outstanding job so far.”
This year’s squad is a relatively young one with just four seniors, including Bowler, Tasia Courts, Sierra Taylor, and Harper Boege. Minyard is impressed with the quartet’s leadership skills: “All our seniors have been awesome. They have stepped up as role models and leaders and helped show our younger players the ropes.”
The Storm welcomes back Karey Balkind ‘22 and Lily Stevens ‘24, two of its youngest members from last year, and Minyard is excited by the developments the pair have made: “Karey has worked extremely hard in the offseason and all summer long. She is a sophomore leader who is getting people in place and giving feedback. She is going to be such a weapon for us.” He continued: “Lily is a stud. She will start for us and carry our biggest offensive load this year. I’m excited to see what she can do.”
New to St. Luke’s Volleyball this fall is Catalina Hendricks ‘22. Minyard expects big things from the Norwalk native: “Catalina is electric. She is an absolute game-changer for our program. She is a sophomore setter who is going to lead this group for the next few years. Catalina has a different kind of athleticism that is contagious. She is really pushing her teammates, who are receptive and extremely positive.”
The Storm opened up the season on the road at Hopkins School on Wednesday, September 11. Despite losing the match 0-3, Minyard is sure his team will bounce back: “We have been saying since day one that it’s okay if we are not good enough right now to win the FAA. We just have to be good enough on the day of the tournament final, and that’s a long time from now. So the biggest goal is to get better every day, which will result in big strides throughout the course of the season.”
St. Luke’s Volleyball returns to the court on Monday, September 16, at Harvey School before another road game at Westover School on Saturday, September 21.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
