Crusaders primed as season opens

FORT MADISON - The first No. 1 ranking came from the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
The next one came from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.
And then there was the ranking from the Des Moines Register. Number 8 … among all teams in the state.
Welcome to the preseason expectations for the Holy Trinity volleyball team, which starts play next in the thin air at the top of the Class 1A state rankings.
It’s fine, coach Melissa Freesmeier said.
“It is what it is,” she said. “Rankings are rankings, but we still have to prove it on the court.”
There is certainly the talent to do that. Holy Trinity is coming off a 29-13 season that included a fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament and despite losing key seniors Anna Bendlage and Teagan Snaadt off that team, bring back their two top kill leaders — first-team all-state selection Presley Myers (347 kills) and second-team pick Adalyn Kruse (310 kills). Myers also led the Crusaders with 82 blocks.
Add in sophomore Olivia Bendlage (137 kills) and senior Emma Mohrfeld (60 kills), along with junior Elizabeth Griffin (67 kills, 318 digs, 261 assists), and the Crusaders are deep with talent.
The rankings, though, aren’t something the Crusaders talk about.
“You know, it’s an honor,” Freesmeier said. “The state has that faith that we're the No. 1 team, but we're going to practice in the gym as if we weren't in the rankings, we're going to work hard, we're going to get better, and we're going to do the things that we do to make us successful.”

Freesmeier plans on running the 6-2 offense that has made her team successful over the years. Sophomore Calli Kruse will step into the setter role alongside Griffin. Junior Alivia Holmes and freshman Claire Crabtree are defensive specialists who are being considered for libero. Freshman Makayla Simpson is in contention for time at middle hitter, and sophomore Layne Schmitt can play outside hitter or defensive specialist.
“These kids have put in the work in the gym,” Freesmeier said. “They have put in the work on the court, and people are going to see that. In our two scrimmages, we saw some weaknesses, and we came back to practice, we've been working on them. And so I'm just excited about getting to next week and getting into game-like situations.”
Myers and Kruse were chosen as team captains.
“Presley is very dominating in the middle, doing everything that we ask,” Freesmeier said. “She just continues to get better. Adalyn has been dominant and is continuing that. She hits the ball so well, but really her strength is her defense and just the ability to read the ball.”
Olivia Bendlage has also made a big step in the offseason, Freesmeier said.
“She is really doing a great job hitting around the block, using the block, her defensive game has elevated,” Freesmeier said. “She is not the freshman she was last year. She has definitely grown her game. She's worked hard in the offseason.”
Mohrfeld has moved to the outside.
“She’s a natural right-side hitter, and she’s swinging well there,” Freesmeier said.
The Crusaders open the season next Tuesday at the Wapello Tournament, then open Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division play the following Tuesday at home against Danville.
The expectations have been set.
“It's going to be there, and everybody's going to give us their best game, let's be honest,” Freesmeier said. “Because they're going to be like, ‘Hey, we got nothing to lose, they’re No. 1,’ so they're going to give us their best game. So we have to bring our best game. So, it's just something that we're going to have to deal with. We're going to have to embrace it. Because it's not going away.”