Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

WEST BRANCH – Heading into her final season of high school volleyball Emily Coleman could see the opportunities awaiting her.

Coleman was coming off a strong junior season and West Branch was losing its top hitter from a year ago with the graduation of Iva Senio.

After ranking second on the team with 174 kills and leading the Bears in hitting efficiency and blocks as a junior Coleman had experience and knew there would be hitting opportunities. Everything pointed toward a big breakthrough year.

To make sure she took advantage of her chance Coleman did what she knew she had to – she spent the offseason preparing.

The preparation started in the winter in the weight room and continued into open gyms over the summer.

“I lifted every single day and I went to all our open gyms this summer,” Coleman said. “The lifting has helped so much, that’s something that I think has really helped me improve.”
The work is paying off this fall.

Coleman is off to a strong start leading West Branch in kills, hitting efficiency and blocks while helping the Bears to a 4-3 record.

“This summer is where it really started for her,” West Branch coach Becky Hosier said. “She was at every open gym and the confidence she got from that work really shows tremendously.”

The combination of the success from last year and the work in the offseason has made for a more confident Coleman this fall.

That confidence has helped turned Coleman into a leader for a West Branch team with its sights set on surpassing its 17-17 record from a year ago.

“She has really developed this offseason,” West Branch coach Monica Tylee said. “We are working on being more evolved as players and she is a player that can play all the way around, her defense has improved and when she is getting a good set she is crushing the ball.”

Coleman has a team-high 44 kills in seven matches this season and is hitting a team-leading .320.

The 5-foot-7 Coleman also leads the Bears with 14 blocks to go with 14 digs and four ace serves.

“My swings overall and my connection with our setters have really improved,” Coleman said. “We are able to do a lot of things because I can hit in all three spots so that is nice and it’s really nice to know that I can be a reliable hitter do a lot of things to help our team.

Coleman is coming off perhaps her best performance of the season in the best win of the year for West Branch

She had a team-best 13 kills and six blocks in a five-set win over 12-3 Mid-Prairie.

“She is a big leader four us as a hitter,” Tylee said. “We can put her in all three spots which gives us an opportunity to do different things against different opponents. She is a leader in that role when it comes to hitting and she is more confident this year.”

The play of Coleman has helped West Branch get off to a 4-3 start with all three losses coming to ranked teams.

West Branch has lost only to 2A No. 10 Regina, 4A top-ranked Clear Creek Amana and 3A No. 12 Solon and has a win over 1A No. 10 Don Bosco.

“With the lineup that we are running I think we have a good opportunity to go far,” Coleman said. “We have good players and good defense.”

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