Squalicum volleyball hopes to feed off strong chemistry in 2015

Coach: Joe Amaral

Last year: Went 6-10 overall and 6-6 in the Northwest Conference (seventh). ... Qualified for postseason by beating Lynden in five sets on the final day of regular season. ... Went 0-2 in the Class 2A District Tournament, losing in three sets to Sehome and four sets to Anacortes.

Players to watch: Rachel Campbell (S, Sr.), Morgan Reese (L, Sr.)

Outlook: New varsity coach Joe Amaral has the benefit of coming onto a team with a cohesive unit with lots of chemistry. Where that chemistry will lead, time will tell. “I don’t have to try to build it or put it in. All the girls work so well together,” Amaral said in a phone interview. The Storm is expecting to get back to the district tournament, and Amaral thinks it has a group to do so, but he doesn’t know how far they can go past that due to what he feels is a talented youth. “I love my seniors, because they provide such great leadership, but I really believe the talent is in our youth. We’re going to try to run a balanced team and not highlight one person,” said Amaral, who isn’t planning on changing much in terms of style of the team. He noted that former coach Laurie Quigley and he share the same philosophy, and his goal is to “raise the expectation of what we expect of ourselves and what we do. We’re knocking on the door, and we’ve earned the right to raise that level of expectation and not be surprised when we beat good teams.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2015 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Squalicum volleyball hopes to feed off strong chemistry in 2015."