New IHS volleyball skipper up for the task – The Durango Herald

Seibel psyched to build upon Pontine’s base

After spending 16 years coaching volleyball in town at the middle-school level, Jennifer Seibel (seen instructing on Saturday during Pagosa Springs’ Pirate 4 Corners Scrimmages) will lead Ignacio High’s Volleycats in the 2023 season – the 2004 IHS graduate’s first as a varsity-level head coach. (Joel Priest/Special to the Herald)

Battling none other than Bayfield as Pagosa Springs’ Pirate 4 Corners Scrimmages wound down on Saturday, Ignacio brandished a collective weapon longtime Wolverine head coach Terene Foutz knew would likely do damage.

Rookie counterpart Jennifer Seibel, meanwhile, was elated to see her Volleycats use their feared serves effectively, even after a long but fast-moving day of match-grade preseason practice at the 14-team assembly. And after BHS blasted out to a media-tracked 7-0 advantage in the continuous (teams never swapped sides at any moment) single ‘game,’ IHS battled back to gain the upper hand at 18-17, and pulled away for an unofficial 29-21 victory.

Precisely the sort of scrappiness that Seibal, a three-sport ’Cat before her graduation in 2004, was hoping she’d see out of a veteran-led bunch essential to Ignacio’s 33-19 overall (18-4 2A/1A San Juan Basin League, 14-2 2A SJBL) record the past two seasons under predecessor Shasta Pontine.

“My biggest takeaway was that the girls have that ‘growth’ mindset; they’re hungry to learn,” Seibel said. “They’re all athletes, they want to get better and … we just have so much potential. I was really excited for the challenges we faced Saturday; I saw so much in areas for improvement, and that made me excited because we’ve got a lot – in a good way – to work on.”

“Saturday was a good eye-opener; kids around here are tough, and nothing’s going to be easy or come easy for us.”

Ignacio’s Kacey Brown (second from right) leads a celebration with fellow senior Solymar Cosio (third from right) after a point scored Saturday during Pagosa Springs’ Pirate 4 Corners Scrimmages. The two are among many veterans returning for the Volleycats in the 2023 season. (Joel Priest/Special to the Herald)

Yet with her first-ever high school varsity looking pretty well stocked, Seibel is decidedly stoked over IHS’ prospects for the imminent 2023 season. Senior middle Solymar Cosio returns to anchor the Volleycats’ net presence along with junior middle Ollyvia Howe, while senior Kacey Brown appears to be Seibel’s initial go-to at setter, with freshman Kelly Sirios – Seibel’s daughter –…