Things will look a little different for the Mingus volleyball team this season. Some of the changes are things that all teams are experiencing, such as adhering to a number of COVID-19 precautions advised by the Arizona Interscholastic Association. Other changes, though, are more unique to the Marauders.
For starters, four seniors are gone from last year’s team. Additionally, there’s a new head coach in Hunter Tibbs, who is replacing Chelsea Chavez. Through the early practices, the players have been responsive
to Tibbs’ coaching.
“He’s definitely different from our last coach, but I think he will really benefit our school this year,” senior captain Shelby Link said of the new coach. “I think he has the heart and drive to make this team really strong. So I’m really enjoying it. As much as I miss Chavez, I think we’re going to have a good season.”
The early adjustment to Tibbs has been smooth. Part of the reason for that is while Tibbs is in his first year as head coach of the varsity team, he’s not new to the program. He served as head coach of the Marauders’ freshmen team and was an assistant under Chavez for the varsity team.
Mingus hopes to change more than just personnel, as Tibbs and the players hope to bring in an era of more on-court success. The Marauders haven’t qualified for state or had a winning season since the fall of 2012, well before any of the current players were in high school.
To turn that record around, Mingus will be dependent on experienced players like Link, as well as her fellow senior captains Sadie Backus and Chayce Doersken. Backus is a defensive specialist and leads the back row while the 6-foot Doerksen is a key player up front on both offense and defense. As far as newcomers, Tibbs has been impressed with junior Addy Steinert and sophomore Riley Peters.
Official practices began on Sept. 1. Due to the pandemic, the Marauders had only a week of open gym workouts before the start of practices. Because of that, the players acknowledge that they’re not at their sharpest yet, especially in areas like teamwork. But the team is also optimistic about where things are headed.
“I think we look really good,” Doerksen said. “It’s hard to tell from the first practices. We definitely have some rust to get off. But that’s what we’re working on now before our first game. But we have a couple of girls that are sophomores this year. That’s a really good opportunity for our program to grow in the coming years.”
“I’m really proud of this team,” she added. “It’s been a hard summer not being able to work together. But everyone has taken time on their own to get better and better themselves. Now we’re here together and we’re just ready for the season.”
The Marauders are presently scheduled to play a 14-game regular season. While everything is subject to change, the first game is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 22, at home against Mohave, leaving Mingus three weeks of practice.
After a long spring and summer filled with quarantining, the Marauders are happy to be back in the gym and getting ready for the season.
“There really hasn’t been any good opportunities for us to play. So it’s good that we’re starting hard back up again,” Backus said. “I hope that we are able to work together as a team, really click together and have positive attitudes. And getting some wins would be fun. I’m really excited to get back in the gym and have everything opening up.”
