Head coach Tim Berry has had talented volleyball squads in the past, but this season Mountain State University is loaded with players with athletic ability, speed and agility.

“I think this is going to be the best team I’ve ever had,” he said. “Last year, we were very short in our hitting. We had good defense and we served well but we just didn’t have enough hitting power. This year, we’re going to reload every rotation. We have a good, strong contingent of hitters this year.”

The Cougars opened practice Thursday with nine of the 11 players participating.

“We have Catelyn Shrader, who was with us last year, reporting Monday,” Berry said. “She comes back to Beckley on the fourth. She’s been in the United States Army Reserve boot camp. She’s a member of our military forces now.

“Jenn Basher has been with us but she had a doctor’s appointment.”

MSU has just three returnees from last season’s 11-25 squad but they are three key players, senior libero Jennifer Sloan, sophomore middle hitter April Warden and Shrader, a sophomore setter/defensive specialist.

“That’s the only three we’ve got,” Berry said. “Everybody else is new.”

Sloan will be the team leader on the floor for the Cougars. She is a tenacious defensive player.

“Sloan has stepped up,” Berry said. “She’ll be our team leader.”

Warden blossomed into a strong force at the net during the second half of the season last year.

“She did a strong job for us in the middle,” Berry said. “I think she has grown an inch since last season as well. She also is handling the ball real well and hitting and cutting the volleyball really well.”

Easing the transition, though, are two junior college transfers, Jennifer Baltrym from Polk Community College in Florida and Jesica Green from Rend Lake Community College in Illinois.

“Baltrym is a dynamic player,” Berry said. “She has great hands and a good approach. She’s a good leader on the floor and very vocal. She can flat pound a volleyball.

“Green is a natural leader. I think she is going to be a good, strong player for us.”

Basher, a junior, was redshirted last season with a back injury but Berry has been pleased with what he has seen from her in summer workouts.

“She’s got her physical problems under control,” he said. “She’s really excited about this season coming. She’s hitting the volleyball really well.”

Jennifer Lilly is another player returning to the MSU fold. Lilly played her first two years for the Cougars before transferring to Bluefield State. The 2002 state prep player of the year returned to Mountain State this season to finish her career.

Crystal Warden, April’s older sister, has also transferred to MSU after three seasons at Davis & Elkins to bolster the lineup.

Freshmen Daniels, Jennifer Davis and Amber Lilly, complete the roster for Berry’s squad.

The increase in speed and agility on the floor was evident in practice.

“That’s what we recruited,” Berry said. “We wanted to improve our defense, even over last year, but even our big girls can move after the ball. They’ve also got the ups and can pound the volleyball. At the net, they’re good blockers.”

With all the athletic ability on the floor, the Cougars will be changing things up a bit.

“We’re going back to a 6-2 (attack) this year,” Berry said. “I’m still in the decision process on my setters. Jesica Green and our freshman, Sam Daniels from Shady, is looking real good right now. Of course, Catelyn Shrader will be coming in here. We tried to groom her for setting last year. They just look real good. They look smooth, so I think the 6-2 is the way we’re going to go.”

The Cougars open the season Aug. 24 with matches against Brevard College and an opponent to be determined.

— E-mail:

rjett@register-herald.com