Eight years have gone by since former volleyball coach Ed “Bear”
Grassl paced the sideline for El Molino, in a golden age that saw
the program capture multiple league and North Coast Section
titles.
Under the legendary coach in 1999, the Lions brought home a
coveted State volleyball championship- the only such title in
Sonoma County League history.
A decade later, the torch has been passed to Leslie Grassl,
Bear’s wife, who will carry on the rich volleyball tradition at El
Molino as she takes the reigns from former coach Lindsay Smith.
Although Grassl will inherit a young team with no seniors on the
roster, she is hopeful of returning the Lions to their winning ways
this fall.
“We’re rebuilding this year and are hoping to compete with all
the strong competition our league presents,” said Grassl, who led
the JV team for several years before ascending to the varsity post.
“I wouldn’t say that making playoffs is completely out of the
question, but we have a lot of improvement to make to get to that
point. We’re having fun while working hard at practices.”
The El Mo varsity roster will have an infusion of youth, with
most players coming up from the JV team of a year ago.
The team will include: juniors; DS Lorena Cruz, DS Amanda
Foster, setter/outside hitter Bethany Garman, DS Sara Hoener,
setter Melissa Manni, middle blocker/outside hitter Kendle Paddock,
setter/DS Kelsey Pritchard, setter/outside hitter Siera Taylor,
middle blocker/outside hitter Katrina Trauman, and outside hitter
Emma Vierra.
Sophomores are: outside hitter Erica Gutsch, setter/outside
hitter Vallena Lipske, DS Taylor Lunardi, and outside hitter
Jessica Reiter.
The Lions will kick off the fall campaign this week with
scheduled matches against Santa Rosa (Sept. 1, after press time),
Thursday, Sept. 3 at Elsie Allen, and next Wednesday, Sept. 9
against visiting Montgomery. Game times starting with the JV are 5
and 6:30 p.m.
