Wildcats improved, but face tough schedule

St. Paul certainly had a successful season last year in coach Matt Koehn's first year with the program.

The Wildcats went 22-7 and advanced to the state tournament for the first time ever before losing to eventual Class C-1 state champion Ord in five games.

Koehn says this year's team may be better, but that doesn't mean it will show up in the won-loss column.

"We start off with the defending state champion (Ord)," Koehn said. "Then we have Kearney Catholic and Ravenna has everybody back. They should be one of the best teams in the conference. The second week we have Kearney Catholic.

"We have GICC the fourth week and they're going to be one of the best teams in the area regardless of class, if not the best. That's a pretty tough first few weeks and it doesn't get much easier after that."

But that's OK with Koehn, who had a 160-40 record at Elba before taking over at St. Paul. He wants the Wildcats to play more matches against the best possible competition.

"You want to end up on top at state, but every night out should be fun," Koehn said. "You want to play good teams the whole year. That's what you're in it for. We added about six more matches this year so we're finally playing a full schedule.

"The reason is so you can play. That's what you practice for. You want to play more matches. It might hurt us in the end in the wild card points, but it's more fun."

The Wildcats return four starters from last year's team, but they must replace All-Heartland Super Squad selection Ashley Hall.

St. Paul does return senior middle blocker Melanie Placke who, along with Hall, gave the Wildcats a strong one-two punch out of the middle last season. Placke led the team in blocks and was second in kills with 272 with a .304 hitting percentage.

"Melanie will have more of a leadership role this year," Koehn said. "She was opposite Ashley last year and they kind of split the lead. We're looking for balance from everybody."

The Wildcats also return junior outside hitters Kirstey Grim and Kassandra Synowski. Koehn is looking for more production from both those players this season.

"We're looking for more from our outsides than passers and diggers," Koehn said. "We're looking for more kills as well as passing and digging for us."

St. Paul ran a 6-2 offense last year with senior Brittney Grim and Tatum Wroblewski, a sophomore last year, handling the setting duties. With Grim gone, the Wildcats will run a 5-1 offense this season.

"Tatum will do all the setting this year," Koehn said. "She has really improved a lot. She's probably the most improved player from last year. Testing-wise, she is the best all-around athlete. She'll get her chance to shine at setter. I'm really excited to see what she can do."

The Wildcats also picked up a player when junior middle blocker Brittney Langan transferred in from Columbus Scotus. Koehn said Langan, who was a starter at Scotus, will help fill the void left by Hall.

Junior Erika Voigt is set to play on the right side. Senior Kim Putscher will see time in the back row while senior Brooke Brouillette will play at middle blocker.

Koehn said the Wildcat players are better athletes this year.

"All of those girls worked really hard in the weight room," he said. "Physically they're a lot stronger when we tested them at the start of practice this year. These girls are better athletes this year than they were last year."

Koehn said practices have gone much smoother in his second year with the program.

"We have a lot of starters back and a lot of key players back," Koehn said. "That makes a huge difference. We didn't have to move people around too much.

"It made a huge difference going into practice when you don't have to fill in the names and what they can do. That's been big. And they know me too. They know my style and know my drills. We just get more done in practice and that's nice.”

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