Revaluate, reconstruct, and reclaim the title. Beaver Area Girls Volleyball is in an off-year after losing four key starting seniors at the end of last season, but they are still expecting to make it deep into playoffs.

This year there was a section reseeding and their new section consists of: Ellwood, Neshannock, Laurel, Beaver Falls, New Brighton, and Mohawk. Beaver Area volleyball will play 12 games in section, and already have played seven as of this writing.

Besides adjusting to the loss of graduating seniors, there is a new coaching staff. Veteran coach Charlene Horwatt retired from the team and a new head coach, Tyler Sczmanski, has taken over the program. Sczmanski’s right hand is Suze Pollens, the junior varsity coach, and together they are working on running a new offense and pushing the girls to reach their potential.

The second dramatic change for the team is that the first year in a long time that there have been cuts to get the roster to its desired level. Much of the team is sophomores and freshmen with only two junior and four seniors. This was obviously a big change for the team formerly known as the “Beaver Army.” Last year there were 45 girls on the team, and this year there are 21.

So far this year the girls are 5-2 in the section only losing to Ellwood and section rivals Neshannock. In both of these games the girls lost in a close fourth set. They played Ellwood the first game of the season winning in four sets.

The second time they played Ellwood sophomore Talia Gallagher said, “I feel like Ellwood was coming for our blood since we beat them at their homeport, so they wanted some redemption. They played a lot harder than we expected and we weren’t mentally prepared.”

The Bobcats only have five more section games in the season and are expecting to secure second in the section which is a tough thought for the three-time section champions.

As junior Lauren Sullivan said, “I think we are going to secure a playoff spot and get pretty far; this team has a lot of potential yet to be reached.”

Regardless of the season outcome, the expectations for next year are high due to the age of the team. Right now only three upperclassmen play varsity with six underclassmen—two of whom are freshmen.

“I have high expectations for the team next year because of how young our team is and how much potential we have,” said Sullivan.

This year the court captain is sophomore Eden McElhaney and the team captain is Natalie Antoline. Antoline is a senior along with Mikayla McShane, Sabrina Morgan, and Alyssa Lucas.

“I’m kind of still in shock that it’s my senior year! I love playing volleyball, but I wish I could play on the faster level with varsity. I think we are good, but we need to work on communication and chemistry,” said McShane.

McElhaney said, “This year is all about rebuilding, but also getting our mental game down because it’s a team sport with six girls on the court, so if one of us is off then the whole team is off. We have so much athleticism and potential, but none of it can be put to use of we aren’t in the mental state we need to be. Every point counts and every person on the court has a role that they need to step up and play. Next year, I am expecting us to win the section and the WPIAL championship again.”