Head Coach Todd Daugherty is prioritizing a long-term developmental approach for his volleyball program as the team prepares for the upcoming season with a roster dominated by underclassmen.
Coach Daugherty said the current squad is essentially a brand-new team featuring 11 freshmen and only four upperclassmen. Daugherty said he is entering his third year at Monterey and his ninth year of coaching high school volleyball overall.
“I would say the lessons from last year have just, like, being patient, of, you know, waiting for your time, waiting for the skills to develop,” Daugherty said. “As a player, if you’re patient, in that regard, then it’s going to set you up for success down the road. If you’re just patient and you go through those reps, you make those mistakes, you give yourself some grace, you can set yourself up to be a really powerful player on the court.”
Daugherty said the coaching staff began pressing the importance of fundamental details upon the players during summer practices in June. Daugherty said the team is focusing on mastering the three-step approach for hitting and establishing proper defensive angles before the ball reaches the passer.
“If you’re able to set that foundation, as cliché as it is, the foundation is what really builds up that building into a strong structure,” Daugherty said. “So, that’s what we’ve been teaching. We’ve been taking our time with getting the fundamentals down.”
Daugherty said the program facilitates an environment where players feel comfortable making mistakes while building their own team culture through bonding activities outside of the court. Daugherty said the program is currently on track to establish expectations centered on winning and player development that the community can be proud of.
“The culture at Monterey for Monterey volleyball has been kind of up in the air,” Daugherty said. “It’s taken a few years to really learn, okay, what exactly are the expectations here and what are we trying to do here? But, coming into year three, it feels like we’re really on track with a culture that wants winning, that wants development, a program that everybody in Monterey and in the community can be proud of.”
Daugherty said the team is led by senior setter Jalee Johnson and senior outside hitter Rachel Schleyder, who both lead through humility and example. Daugherty said junior middle blocker Cora Monday has also emerged as an outspoken leader for the 19-player roster.
“They’re both pretty, like, soft-spoken,” Daugherty said. “They’re not going to command the room as much as they’re going to show what like good leadership looks like. And so they do that with humility, they do that with the way that they present themselves to the players and to our families.”
Daugherty said the program reached a historic peak two years ago with the most wins in school history before graduating eight seniors and resetting with a new varsity lineup last season. Daugherty said the team finished with six wins last year and is now working to exceed expectations and move back toward the success seen two seasons ago.
“I want them to really strive high, I want them to pursue wins and it doesn’t matter who we play, whether it be a powerhouse in our district or whether it be somebody that we’ve beaten for years,” Daugherty said. “I want them going in ready to deliver, expecting to deliver, expecting to have their best game ever. And if it doesn’t work out, then again, we’re just going to be patient, we’re going to continue working.”
Daugherty said sophomore Libero Yassi Reed and junior Nico Rempel are also expected to be key contributors to the varsity rotation this year.
