North Platte senior Kylee Sipes brings back experience for the Lady Panthers.
It’s been a rough few years for the North Platte volleyball team – having an 8-66-1 record since 2020 – but that could change with a new coach and experienced squad.
After three years of being the assistant coach at North Platte, Summer Richardson has been promoted to head coach. Coming off a 2-24-1 season, the worst record the program has seen since 2010, the first-year head coach is optimistic about the fall.
“We’re focusing on the future. As a team we feel that looking forward is the best way to move
forward. I’ve coached many of these girls at the sub-varsity level, so the change in coaching style isn’t foreign to them,” Richardson said.
Senior Kinsey Niedfeldt brings back the most experience, being a varsity level player her entire high school career, and will be in the middle this fall. Nobody else on the North Platte roster has more than two years of experience on varsity.
Libero Kylee Sipes, right side hitter Katelyn Morelock and middle hitter Ariana Miller are all seniors who started some matches last year. Juniors Kate Richardson, Kayla Humes and Ryleigh Kidwell also saw some time as starters.
“There are a lot of strong players on the team. I look forward to them all showing their talents and skills throughout the season. We will continue to build the team mentality and work hard with a focus on the future,” Richardson said.
Along with the upperclassmen who were in and out of the starting lineup a year ago, senior outside hitter Carleigh Adkins fought into the rotation. Makenna Cartwright will be competing for some playing time as an outside hitter in her senior campaign.
“We’re working hard to build a team that is committed to and focused on working together. We have grown stronger over the preseason and will continue to focus on building our skills,” Richardson said.