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Princeton volleyball restarts under new head coach · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Princeton volleyball restarts under new head coach. Written by Clock Teuscher,
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  Speaker 1: this article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by Everlett. After closing out longtime head volleyball
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  Speaker 1: coach Andy Puck's twenty four year tenure at Princeton with
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  Speaker 1: a regional championship last fall, the Tigerses are doing a
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  Speaker 1: hard reset to start the season as they look to
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  Speaker 1: extend their success into a new era. First year head
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  Speaker 1: coach Libby Boyle's a twenty twenty two Princeton graduate, is
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  Speaker 1: tasked with taking over a program that has run on
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  Speaker 1: autopilot for several years and replacing nearly the entire starting lineup.
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  Speaker 1: As part of that process, Boyles took the unusual step
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  Speaker 1: of conducting tryouts for this year's team. Puck, who initially
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  Speaker 1: suggested the tryouts, estimated this was the first time in
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  Speaker 1: twenty years Princeton had required players to do so. I
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  Speaker 1: saw a lot of big eyes when I announced at
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  Speaker 1: an open jim that we were going to have tryouts.
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  Speaker 1: Boyle said, that was a big change, but it was
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  Speaker 1: kind of the only way we were going to make
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  Speaker 1: this work. I thought it was a compliment to me
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  Speaker 1: that people stayed and wanted to see what the change
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  Speaker 1: was like. It was a hard decision to make because
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  Speaker 1: no coach wants to start a season like that, but
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  Speaker 1: change is inevitable sometimes. Many of the sixteen athletes who
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  Speaker 1: made the squad are already familiar with Boyles, who coached
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  Speaker 1: much of this year's junior class at the junior, high
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  Speaker 1: and club levels. I think it's been really good, junior
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  Speaker 1: setter Peyton Harden said. We all kind of know her.
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  Speaker 1: She's coached us before and helped us for club. We
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  Speaker 1: all know how she coaches and her coaching style, and
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  Speaker 1: I think it's really brought us together because she likes
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  Speaker 1: to have fun but still get the work done. Harden
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  Speaker 1: and classmate Addie Perry will both serve as setters in
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  Speaker 1: Boyles's offense, which will require hitters to learn how to
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  Speaker 1: adjust to how each handles the ball. Addie was a
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  Speaker 1: setter last year and Peyton was a defensive specialist, but
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  Speaker 1: her club team figured out she was a pretty stellar
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  Speaker 1: setter too. Boyle said, they set differently, so we're making
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  Speaker 1: sure all of our hitters are acclimated to both setters
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  Speaker 1: and can adjust to both. So we're really working on
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  Speaker 1: acknowledging every set is not going to be perfect and
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  Speaker 1: being able to handle balls that are out of system.
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  Speaker 1: I want to see the hitters grow with some more confidence.
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  Speaker 1: Harden is also one of the Tigris' team captains, alongside
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  Speaker 1: senior middle hitter Danica Burden and senior Liburo Ava Kyle.
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  Speaker 1: Junior Peyton Brant is set to join Burden upfront for Princeton,
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  Speaker 1: while junior Jocelyn Strauss and sophomore Colby Lawson have emerged
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  Speaker 1: as the top options at outside hitter. Senior Olivia Sandoval
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  Speaker 1: and junior Annie Thompson will see time on the back
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  Speaker 1: row as defensive specialists. Brant is going to be a powerhouse.
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  Speaker 1: She's got a tough swing. We're working with her on
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  Speaker 1: working around blocks and then blocking as well, Boyle said.
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  Speaker 1: Colby Lawson also has a powerful swing. We're working on
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  Speaker 1: some control with her. She plays to a level that
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  Speaker 1: doesn't show she's a sophomore. Jocelyn Struce was a little
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  Speaker 1: timid as a freshman, but now she's come out of
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  Speaker 1: her shell and it's just transformed her as a player.
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  Speaker 1: The Tigresses open the season at the Hall Early Bird
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  Speaker 1: Tournament on August twenty ninth,