A Wolves team that lost several key starters but retains its top two hitters looks for a return to the prep finals in 2022.
Now in her 30th season as Sequim’s head coach, Jennie Webber Heilman looks to hard-hitting senior Kendall Hastings and do-it-all junior Jolene Vaara to lead the purple and gold this season, on the heels of a class 2A state tourney appearance.
“We’re slim on experience,” Webber Heilman noted last week, considering her lineup. Going into a first week of play that included a jamboree with league foes North Kitsap and Port Angeles on Sept. 1 — albeit without four varsity players because of prior commitments — and the rare early-season tournament in Everett on Sept. 10, Webber and the Wolves don’t have a lot of time to tinker with lineups and roles.
“It’s going to be a work in progress,” Webber Heilman said.
“I’m not worried. [We just] need to get everyone playing.”
Hastings has seen plenty of action over the summer. The fourth-year varsity player helped her Tacoma-based club team to a spot at nationals. She and Standouts such as Hailey Brockway of Graham-Kapowsin (a Southern Illinois commit) and Sophia Baugh of North Kitsap played a slew of matches in five states over a three-week period, Hastings said.
Hastings added four camps in California to stay sharp for the upcoming prep season.
“I was worried I would get burned out but I didn’t,” she said.
While club play saw her in a more supportive role, the high school game is where she needs to step up for her teammates, Hastings said.
“For high school it’s to be more of a leader, so that’s a shift,” Hastings said. “I’ll fill [in] where ever is needed.”
With sights set on California State Polytechnic University-Pomona to study aeronautical engineering in 2023, Hastings said she enjoys high school play as much or even more than her club matches.
“It’s fun going to school with those [teammates, enjoying] the bus rides,” she said.
Hastings, a first team all-Olympic League player, paced the Wolves in 2021 with 275 kills, 53 aces and 66 blocks, and was second on the team with 204 digs and 153 assists.
Backing Hastings is Vaara, who played each position on the court last fall except libero (defensive specialist), Webber Heilman said, on her way to an all-Olympic League second team nomination.
Vaara was second on the team in kills (226), aces (46) and blocks (46), and fourth in digs (175) in 2021.
“She’s just one of those kids who can do anything,” the Sequim coach said of Vaara.
While she searches for a setter for this squad, Webber Heilman said she may have Vaara or Hastings do some setting. But both pass well and can hit from the back row, so finding a regular setter might be a better option.
Also back to this year’s squad are seniors Jordan Kidd, who had 25 kills, five blocks and 65 digs in limited play last fall, as well as Angel Wagner, who had 15 kills, 11 aces and nine blocks. Also back is Mia Coudriet, who had 116 digs, and Sammie Bacon, both seniors.
The Wolves saw a healthy turnout even with practices starting before the school year, with about 46 overall and 24 of those freshmen, Webber Heilman said.
“We had some freshmen come in that played club on a local team. A lot of them came this summer to open gym,” she said.
The numbers will help bolster a program that lost a number of key players to graduation in Allie Gale, Jordan Hegtvedt and Mallory Morey.
Last year’s Wolves squad went 9-5 in Olympic League play and beat league foes Olympic and Kingston at districts, both in loser-out games, to qualify for state 2A tournament. Sequim finished 12-9 overall.
Fall sports preview:
SHS volleyball
Head coach: Jennie Webber Heilman (30th year)
Assistants: Rachel Oden, Brittany Gale
2021 record: 9-5 in Olympic League, 3-4 in postseason; 0-2 at state 2A state tourney
Key returning athletes: Kendall Hastings Sr., Jolene Vaara Jr., Jordan Kidd Sr., Angel Wagner Sr., Mia Coudriet Sr., Sammie Bacon Sr., Sydney Hegtvedt Jr.
2022 SHS volleyball schedule
Date, Opponent, Time
Sept. 1 Jamboree (Port Angeles, North Kitsap)
Sept. 10 AMHS Volleyball Classic TBA
Sept. 13 at North Mason 6:45 p.m.
Sept. 15 at Port Angeles 6:45 p.m.
Sept. 20 Olympic 6:15 p.m.
Sept. 22 at North Kitsap 6:45 p.m.
Sept. 27 Bainbridge 6:45 p.m.
Sept. 29 at Bremerton 6:15 p.m.
Oct. 1 at Mark Morris Tournament, Longview TBA
Oct. 4 at Kingston 6:15 p.m.
Oct. 6 North Mason 6:15 p.m.
Oct. 11 Port Angeles 6:15 p.m.
Oct. 13 at Olympic 6:45 p.m.
Oct. 18 North Kitsap 6:15 p.m.
Oct. 20 Bainbridge 6:15 p.m.
Oct. 25 at Bremerton 6:45 p.m.
Oct. 27 Kingston 6:15 p.m.
* — Junior varsity matches start at 5 p.m.
Sequim Gazette file photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Jolene Vaara looks to hit past a block in the Wolves’ September 2021 match-up with Bainbridge.
