Bison happy to have injured players return

Central City will be welcoming back two players from injuries this season.

Senior Emily Maresh injured her knee the second match of last season and missed the rest of the year. Senior Kristen Shively injured her knee during the basketball season.

"She's doing really well," Central City coach Kelly McHargue said of Maresh. "She played on a competitive softball team all summer and went to a national tournament and was catching.

"Kristen just got cleared to play in early July. We're easing her back into it. It will take a while to get her back in shape and get ready to go, but she's doing well too."

Maresh played libero for the Bison as a freshman before switching to outside hitter where she led the team in digs as a sophomore. Shively has been the starting setter for the team since her sophomore season.

"Both are very competitive girls," McHargue said. "They really love volleyball and are working hard to come back. They're motivated. That's what it takes to come back from injuries like that."

Central City will be looking for 6-foot-1 junior middle hitter Lexi Malm to be its go-to player up front. McHargue said Malm had a good summer that will prepare her well for the upcoming season.

"She had a great season in track," McHargue said. "She came off of that and worked hard this summer. She's playing with confidence. I think that will continue to grow through the season. It will be exciting to see what will happen for her."

Maresh and senior Ali Janky, who both stand 5-7, will be the outside hitters. That means the Bison will have to be strong in other areas to make up for their lack of height at those spots.

"Both outsides are on the small side," McHargue said. "Both are seniors with a lot of experience. We need to use that and make good decisions where to place the ball and rely on our defense to make plays for us.

"We'll feed the ball to Lexi. She will be our main attacker. The rest of our players have to make smart decisions where to put the ball."

Janky was playing libero a year ago before Maresh was injured, so the Bison will have two very good defense players at the outside position.

The key this season will be to avoid injuries.

"We definitely have to stay healthy to have a good season," McHargue said. "It killed us last year to lose Emily, and it's the same thing this year, especially with the schedule we play against a lot of bigger schools that have a lot of depth. That's really important for us."

Central City, a Class C-1 school, will play a number of Class B teams including Grand Island Northwest, Aurora, York and Holdrege. The Bison will also play Class C-1 powers Grand Island Central Catholic, Minden and St. Paul.

Those three C-1 teams are also in Central City's district at the end of the season.

"That's a good challenge for us," McHargue said. "I think we have athletes who are very competitive and will like that challenge. It will only make us better as we prepare for our district.”

E-mail Bob Hamar