There will be a lot of ‘new’ in Jayhawk West volleyball this season.

As always at the 2-year level, there will be a lot of new players. This years also bring four new coaches and even a new team.

For all the new in the conference, Barton will have a lot of familiarity for its 2018 season.

Back for third-year head coach Brandon Stephenson will be six players and his assistant coach Taylor Littleton.

Among the returning players is a second-team All West pick, another of the top hitters from last season and a duo that combined for nearly 150 blocks in the middle.

Laine Alves returns as a second-team all West pick. The sophomore from Brazil was second on the team with 208 kills last season. Lindsborg sophomore Kate Deterding was fourth with 157.

Also back in the middle are Newton’s Kailey Harris and Derby’s Ariana Taylor. Taylor led the Cougars with 97 blocks last season and Harris was fourth at 50.

Kaila Harris, no relation to Kailey, is back with experience as a setter for the Cougars with 299 assists to her credit while Caylee Irving will focus on defensive specialist only this year, allowing her to hone in on her abilities in that area.

“As much as anything, I am looking for those six to be in a leadership role for us,” Coach Stephenson said. “They have the ability to help the freshman understand what it is like to play some of these venues and the importance of each match, especially in the conference.”

The conference will have a bit of a different look this year with Independence essentially moving to the West for volleyball in order to play at the NJCAA DI level. Cloud County will drop down to DII and slide over to the East where all the schools play DII.

Also new will be coaches in Seward, Butler, Garden City, and Dodge City. Throw in Independence and Stephenson and the Cougars will be seeing five coaches for the first time among their eight conference foes.

The most intriging of those could be in Seward where the defending West champions and the No. 17 team in the country to start the year will be under the direction of new leadership.

“That first time through the conference could be very interesting,” Coach Stephenson said. “Getting to know the systems of the new coaches could keep us as a staff up late.

“There are always certain things you know with returning coaches and their system. This is unique in that over half the teams will be a new system for us to break down.”

As always, several new faces should make a big impact on the season for the Cougars.

Among those is one of the key positions the Cougars were needing to fill – that of the libero.

Karina Leal should take over that spot. The Brazil product will bring a different sytle approach to the position.

“We are going to look for her to be the leader on the defensive side,” Coach Stephenson said. “The mindset of a libero is different in Brazil. They are more active. When she is on the floor that will allow our front row to focus more on attacking and worry about the back.”

New faces Rayanne Oliveira and Andrea Puakavase will add hitting and blocking. Oliveira is a lanky 5-11 comes from Brazil and Puakavase, from France, comes in at 6-0.

“Rayanne can get after in the middle, she is very much a competitor,” Stephenson said. “Andrea comes in as an outside but has a big frame. She can easily be a single-block shut down person for us.”

The Cougars will also get a pair of Lithuanians that will bring a unique combination of playing a lot of indoor volleyball and well as beach volleyball in 5-9 hitter Migle Mazurkeviciute and 5-8 setter Angieska Paskevic.

“Migle has a great volleyball IQ,” Coach Stephenson said. “She has a sneaky verticle and power. Angieska will be a completely different setter than Kaila. She is more of a jump setter, which should bring a good dynamic between the two.”

Eduardo Souza is a 5-10 fresman from Brazil who had spent time in the US and in addition to being a solid player for the Cougars, speaks great English and helps in translation.

Locally, Kassidy Pflughoeft from Central Plains and Lacey Mitchell from Otis-Bison will help provide depth.

“Kassidy is a tall-lanky kid that is quickly learning the college system,” Coach Stephenson said. “Lacy is a player I have coached before and just flies all over the place as a defensive specialist and libero.”

Also from Kansas will be McKenzie Peace, a 5-10 middle/outside from Manhattan, and Ayi-lissa Dotson, a 5-10 middle from Junction City.

“We were able to get McKenzie because the team she played on at Manhattan had four DI or DII players above her, she has great ability,” Coach Stephenson said. “Ayi-lissa has only played volleyball for two years. She has a tremendous vertical and could be a weapon for us in the middle.”

The Cougars will waste little time testing their 2018 version.

Barton will open play Friday against No. 12 Laramie County in the Reiver Classic at Iowa Western. Barton will also take on traditional power Indian Hills on day one.

Day two is even tougher. Barton will start with tournament host and No. 3 ranked Iowa Western before wrapping up the weekend with No. 4 ranked Western Nebraska.

“That should test our character,” Coach Stephenson said. “It’s not a welcome to the party type of a opening weekend. It’s more of a what do we have now type opener.

“The girls are excited about it. They want to see where we fit with the rest of the nation. It will allow us to see what we have and where we need to improve. Hopefully we can steal a win or two in the process.”

2018 SCHEDULE

August

8-24  vs. Laramie County CC @ Council Bluffs, IA; vs. Indian Hills CC @ @ Council Bluffs, IA

8-25  at Iowa Western CC Reiver Arena - Council Bluffs, IA; vs. Western Nebraska CC @ @ Council Bluffs, IA

8-27  Dodge City CC

8-29  at Hutchinson CC

8- 31  Clarendon College; vs. Cloud County CC

September

9-1  Casper College; Pratt CC 

9-7  vs. Coastal Bend College @ @ Baytown, TX; vs. Navarro College @ @ Baytown, TX

9-8  vs. Cisco College @ @ Baytown, TX; at Lee College

9-17  Garden City CC

9-19  at Colby CC

9-24  at Butler CC

9-26  at Independence CC

9-28  vs. Iowa Central CC, Cowley County CC, Cowley Invitational

9-29  vs. Carl Sandburg College, Cowley Invitational; vs. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Cowley Invitational

October

10-1  at Dodge City CC

10-5  Labette CC; Iowa Western CC

10-6  Cloud County CC; Southeast CC

10-8  at Pratt CC

10-10  at Seward County CC

10-15  Seward County CC

10-17  Colby CC

10-20  at Garden City CC

10-22  Hutchinson CC

10-24  Butler CC

10-27  Independence CC

ROSTER

1  Kailey Harris, M/OPP, SO, 5’10”, Newton

3  Agnieska Paskevic, S, FR, 5’8”, Vilnius, Lithuania

4  Laine Alves, OH/OPP, SO, 5’9”, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil

5  Ariana Taylor, M/OPP, SO, 5’11”, Derby

6, Migle Mazurkeviciute, OH, FR, 5’9”, Kaunas, Lithuania

7  Eduarda Souza, OH/DS, FR, 5’10”, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro

8  Rayanne Oliveira, OH/M, FR, 5’11”, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

9  Karina Leal, DS, FR, 5’5”, Salto, Sao Paulo, Brazil

10  Ayi-lissa Dotson, MB, FR, 5’10”, Junction Cit

11  Kate Deterding, OH/DS, SO, 5’8”, Lindsborg

12  Kassidy Pflughoeft, OH/OPP, FR, 6’1”, Claflin

13  Lacey Mitchell, DS, FR, 5’5”, Bison

14  Kaila Harris, S/OPP, SO, 5’10”, Mesquite, Texas

15  Caylee Irving, DS, SO, 5’8”, Lawrence

17  Mackenzie Pease, OH/M, FR, 5’10”, Manhattan

18  Andrea Puakavase, OH, FR, 6’0”, Clermont-Ferrand, France

COACHES

Head Coach:  Brandon Stephenson (3rd Season)

Assistant Coaches:  Taylor Littleton (2nd Season)

STAFF

Head Athletic Trainer:  Ken Henderson

Assistant Athletic Trainer:  Jonathon Lovercamp

Student Athletic Trainers:  Hannah Schoenecker and Elyssa Barner

Managers: Alex Taylor, Elyssa Barner, and Cheyenne Schurle