Summer sets yet again but this ending brings the beginning of a crisp new high school fall sports season and volleyball is set up to provide another rewarding and thrilling season. 

For Lone Tree volleyball they will plunge into the season returning a large majority of last year’s roster.

Last season the Lady Lions went 3-5 in the conference and had an overall record of 5-20. This was the third time in the last four years Lone Tree reached five wins with the lone exception being 2021, a year where they compiled seven wins. 

Lone Tree’s 2022 season came to an official end after a Class 1A regional postseason matchup against the Central City Wildcats. A road playoff game for Lone Tree, the Wildcats swept the Lady Lions, 3-0. 

As a team the 2022 Lone Tree volleyball team ended their year with 317 kills, 771 digs, 56 blocks, 271 assists, and 133 service aces. 

Saying goodbye to five seniors in the offseason, Lone Tree will look to replace the production of two seniors in particular, Riley Krueger and Ella Buser. 

Krueger, a right-side hitter, did a little bit of everything on the volleyball court exceptionally well. She led last year’s team in kills (138), digs (180), and service aces (33). Krueger was selected second-team all-conference for her play. 

Buser, a setter, was an honorable mention all-conference in her senior year. She ended her final year playing volleyball for Lone Tree with 42 kills, 108 digs, and a team leading 206 assists.

This year’s Lone Tree varsity volleyball team consists of four seniors, eight juniors, and one sophomore. 

Now a senior and a captain on this year’s squad, Hogan Eden will aim to string together back-to-back productive and impressive seasons for Lone Tree. As a junior last season Eden had the second most digs on the team with 156. 

Another standout returning Lady Lion is junior Cate Sexton. Appointed as a captain this season Sexton will look to build upon a sophomore year where she had 27 kills, 28 digs, 16 service aces and earned an honorable mention all-conference selection.  

Avery Morarie, Alex Dautremont, and Rylee Shield are a trio of Lady Lions returning this year as juniors that will no doubt have a positive impact on this year’s team.  

Dautremont and Morarie both tied for the third most kills last year (28) with the two players above them both being seniors. Dautremont also had 143 digs, third most on the team and Morarie had 13 blocks, also third most on the team. 

Shield ended her sophomore season with 23 kills and 34 digs. She also had seven solo blocks, 18 blocks in total. Her number of total blocks were tied for the most on the team, with Sexton being the other player to reach 18 blocks. 

Lone Tree began their 2023 volleyball season by traveling to Keota to take part in a tournament on August 21. Six schools competed in this tournament with the other five schools being English Valleys, Highland, Hillcrest, Tri-County, and Keota.