Tammy Vrzak and Ashley Walz are in season two of their tenure as a coaching tandem for the Turkey Valley volleyball squad.
The Trojan co-coaches took over for Shelbie Balk midway through the season last fall and helped guide the Trojans to a 6-2 league mark and third place finish in the Upper Iowa Conference.
Currently, TV (10-10, 4-1) sits in second place behind first place North Fayette Valley (11-3, 3-0), but the Trojans have played two more league contests than the TigerHawks.
Turkey Valley played rival South Winneshiek (14-10, 2-1) on Tuesday and finishes off the UIC slate next week Tuesday, Oct. 8 at West Central and the following Thursday on the road versus MFL MarMac.
Walz, a South Winn grad, talked about the strengthening coaching bond between herself and Vrzak – a key element that could propel the Trojans to even greater heights during the latter portion of this regular season. Vrazak has over two decades of experience of coaching volleyball and she’s helping instill some of the success and winning ways she’s been able to create with Walz.
“I just remember when I was in high school, she was coaching. Being able to learn from her now is a great experience and I couldn’t ask for anybody else,” said Walz. “It was great last year and it’s been even better this year. I feel like our relationship has gotten a lot closer and we’re able to talk a lot more volleyball and figure things out on a deeper level.”
At Kee
Turkey Valley is starting to play some of its best volleyball of the year, as evidenced by its three-set sweep on the road over Kee High last week Thursday by scores of 25-7, 25-9 and 25-10.
“They are adjusting well. Practicing is going well. I can’t be prouder of how they’re doing so far this season,” said Walz. “I’m excited to see what we all have left.”
Vrzak and Walz mixed things up a little bit up front for the Trojans as seniors Delaney Busta and Kinsey Reicks switched positions. Busta moved to the middle and Reicks moved to Busta’s old spot on the rightside up near the net.
“She’s adjusting to that fairly well,” said Walz about Reicks.
Reicks was TV’s second-team all-league pick a year ago in that middle slot. She hammered down 10 kills versus Kee High, but that wasn’t tops on the team. The No. 1 kill leader for the Trojans up in Lansing was senior Layni Schuchhardt, who posted 16 kills. Schuchhardt also had herself a day at the service line as she went 17-17 with two aces.
TV was 70-72 serving as a team with 13 aces against the winless Hawks (0-15, 0-4).
Addison Steinlage, a junior, accumulated 36 assists versus Kee. TV seniors Morgan Vsetecka and Alexis Elsbernd were the leaders in digs with 11 apiece. Trojan junior Karstyn Lukes notched four aces.
“They’re a really good group of girls. This is only my second season with them. By the end of the season last year I felt like I had a really good connection with them that’s continuing to grow,” said Walz. “Our passes are doing what they can, especially Morgan Vsetecka. She moves really well in left back and is able to get to where we need her.”
Stats versus Kee
Kills – Schuchhardt 16, Reicks 10, Bodensteiner 8, Busta 7, Steinlage 4, Ives 3.
Assists – Steinlage 36, Schuchhardt 3, Throndson 1, Vsetecka 1.
Digs – Elsbernd 11, Vsetecka 11, Lukes 6, Schuchhardt 4, Reicks 3, Throndson 3, Busta 1, Ives 1, Steinlage 1.
Serving – Reicks 13-13, Steinlage 14-15, Schuchhardt 17-17, Elsbernd 8-9, Lukes 14-14, Vsetecka 4-4.
Aces – Lukes 4, Steinlage 3, Reicks 2, Schuchhardt 2, Elsbernd 2.
Senior Night
Trojan all-conference senior middle Kinsey Reicks let it be known after her squad’s three-set sweep over the underdog and winless Postville Pirates on Tuesday night in Jackson Junction.
“I try and be a leader on the court. I try and lift people up and I hope people do the same for me also,” said Reicks. “Everyone needs someone to look up to. When I started sophomore year I was very nervous, but those seniors led me through it.”
That type of leadership was critical on this evening when the overmatched Pirates (0-7, 0-3) had Turkey Valley on its heels after an 8-2 lead in game two. Turkey Valley later managed an 11-0 run in that crucial set two to take control of the match.
The final scores read 25-21, 25-14 and 25-14 – all in the Trojans’ favor.
“It was definitely not how we thought we were going to go into the games. They were definitely a lot scrappier than we were expecting,” said TV head coach Ashley Walz, who splits coaching duties with longtime Trojan coach Tammy Vrzak.
The Pirates stuck around in game one against the favored Trojans before a 7-1 run closed out the match.
“I think we just found our groove. We started off rough. We weren’t really talking much. Once we started to get our kills, get our hits, then we got hyped up. Then we started to put things down,” said Reicks.
Reicks – who leads the Trojans in blocks (18) alongside fellow senior Delany Busta’s 16 up front near the net – was one of five seniors honored on Senior Night. The other Trojan seniors who received recognition before the start of the varsity match were outside hitter Layni Schuchhardt, libero Morgan Vsetecka and defensive specialist Alexis Elsbernd.
Schuchhardt made several plays down the stretch for the Trojans to help dominate game three. She leads the team in kills with 59.
TV improved to 9-10 overall and 3-1 in the Upper Iowa Conference. Although that mark could well change for the better as the Trojans are looking to catch fire here as the latter portion of the regular season awaits.
Stats versus Postville
Kills – Annika Bodensteiner 10, Layni Schuchhardt 9, Delaney Busta 5, Ella Ives 5, Kinsey Reicks 3, Addison Steinlage 2.
Assists – Steinlage 22, Mogan Vsetecka 5, Alexis Elsbernd 1, Karstyn Lukes 1.
Digs – Vsetecka 30, Steinlage 7, Elsbernd 5, Lukes 5, Reicks 4, Jenna Throndson 4, Schuchhardt 2, Bodensteiner 1.
Blocks – Reicks 4, Steinlage 1, Busta 1, Ives 1.
Serving – Reicks 15-17, Steinlage 27-27, Schuchhardt 6-8, Elsbernd 6-7, Lukes 6-6, Vsetecka 7-9.
Aces – Steinlage 7, Reicks 4, Schuchhardt 2, Vsetecka 2, Lukes 1.
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