BLOOMFIELD
COACH: Hailey Silman, first season
LAST SEASON: 21-8-5, lost to St. Pius X-Festus in Class 2 sectional
RETURNING: Kaley Roper, sr., Nicole Roper, sr., Jewel Chisom, sr., Cayla Mayberry, sr., Bailey Below, jr., Lilly Warrick, jr.
SEASON OUTLOOK: There's a new coach on the bench but not much has changed for the Wildcats.
After two seasons at Bloomfield, Sherilyn Long stepped down to return to school, making way for Hailey Silman, who last coached at Scott City for four seasons. Silman has been a teacher at Bloomfield for the last four years and is bringing her coaching experience to a team that has won three straight district titles.
"I've known all the girls for awhile now and I know what they're capable of," Silman said. "It's nice to step into an established program."
All-State, first-team selection Jewel Chism, a senior, returns to lead an experienced bunch. She's joined by seniors Kaley and Nicole Roper, Cayla Mayberry as well as juniors Bailey Below and Lilly Warrick, all of whom started last season.
In her first season at the helm with a seasoned program, Silman said she's not messing with a winning formula.
"We've just been building on what they did last year," Silman said. "We haven't changed much, other than a few position switches, because this team already knows the drill."
CLARKTON
COACH: Amy Cowart
LAST SEASON: 2-14, lost in first round of district tournament
RETURNING: Kayla Gentry, Alexandra Lemus.
SEASON OUTLOOK: The Reindeer have an abundance of youth entering the 2017 season.
Over half of the 20 players on the Clarkton roster are freshmen with just two returning starters in Kayla Gentry and Alexandra Lemus.
"We are really young," Clarkton volleyball coach Amy Cowart said. "We have two seniors and two juniors with experience and our other two upperclassmen are from the foreign exchange program so they are also new to the program."
Despite the youth, Cowart thinks her squad has several things going for it entering the season. In Cowart's opinion, Clarkton has already proven it can compete with teams in the area based on its performance this summer.
"We competed in the Bootheel summer league," Cowart said. "There were about 13 schools down here in the Bootheel that competed. We played pretty well and hung with just about everyone we played with. Sometimes we split with teams, but even with our youth we never got blown out by many teams."
CLEARWATER
COACH: Lisa Ayers, second season
LAST SEASON: 3-25-1, lost in first round of district tournament
RETURNING: Brittany Adams, sr., Desiree Clinton, sr., Faith Hoppe, jr., Brianna Lawson, jr., Elizabeth Gronski, soph., Rachel Rowold, soph.
SEASON OUTLOOK: After a year of settling in for both second-year coach Lisa Ayers and her six returning players, the Tigers are looking up.
Coming off a 3-win season, Ayers has seen nothing but improvement from her more experienced squad.
"With several returning I think that bodes very well for us," Ayers said. "The girls have been working hard all summer."
Similar to last year, Clearwater's schedule has its hurdles, featuring games against Arcadia Valley, Winona, Bismarck and Poplar Bluff.
"It's always been a tough schedule for us, but at the same time I think that can be good for us," Ayers said. "It can't hurt us because there's nowhere to go but up."
Clearwater hosted a jamboree Thursday night, splitting with Puxico before beating Ellington. The Tigers lost to Greenville to cap the night but Ayers saw good things from her team.
"We saw some things we need to work on in practice. I really like having the jamboree so you can see what your team needs to work on before the first game," Ayers said. "The girls have really been working hard for us in practice and are ready to get the season going."
MALDEN
COACH: Brittany Crane, second season
LAST SEASON: 19-9-1, lost to Twin Rivers in district championship
RETURNING: Madilyn Earnheart, sr., Lydia Harris, sr., Lexi Campbell, sr., Lana Reed, sr., Elana Wiseman, sr., Madeline Underwood, sr., Julianna French, jr., Anna Belcher, jr., Tanner Miller, jr., Makenzie Minniefield, jr., Gracie Thomas, jr.
SEASON OUTLOOK: Expectations remain high for a Green Wave program that has enjoyed its fair share of success in recent years.
Malden returns the majority of its key pieces off of last season's varsity squad that finished 19-9-1 and won the Bootheel Conference Tournament for a fourth straight season.
"The program was already built here when I arrived," Malden second-year volleyball coach Brittany Crane said. "I'm just building off of that and pushing forward with the program that was already established."
Malden returns six seniors -- Madilyn Earnheart, Lydia Harris, Lexi Campbell, Lana Reed, Elana Wiseman and Madeline Underwood. Crane said five of the seniors have enjoyed significant playing time since they were freshmen and the other senior, Reed, could make an immediate impact at the net.
"The seniors have played a part in the varsity's success since they were freshmen," Crane said. "Lana Reed has not played in about three years but will hit middle for us and be a valuable piece of our offense."
Accompanying the seniors are juniors Julianna French, Anna Belcher, Tanner Miller, Makenzie Minniefield and Gracie Thomas. Crane said Thomas saw time on varsity as a middle hitter last year and Miller will make the transition from a hitter to a setter this season.
Malden is still looking for an elusive district title after losing to Twin Rivers in the championship for the second straight year.
TWIN RIVERS
COACH: Whitney Stanford, ninth season
LAST SEASON: 25-10, lost to Metro in Class 2 sectional
RETURNING: Hannah Phillips, sr., Hannah Finley, sr., Katelyn South, sr., Brooke Blume, sr., Britni Wyrick, sr., Catey Hester, sr., Olivia Douglas, sr., Madison McKlintic, sr., Alexis Wilson, sr.
SEASON OUTLOOK: Despite the loss of four key players to graduation, the Royals remain loaded with depth and experience as they prepare to defend their district title. .
Entering her ninth season as head coach at Twin Rivers, Whitney Stanford brings back a 10-player varsity squad made up of all seniors. Of that bunch, six saw major playing time last season and four were starters.
"I'm returning my setter, a middle blocker, both outside hitters and both defensive specialists," Stanford said. "It's a good bunch to have back."
The Royals lost a huge asset in middle hitter Emily Joiner along with three other players. Stanford is filling that void with senior Katie Baxter, who will be playing the spot for the very first time.
Even though the Royals returned most of their players, they had some difficulty finding a good combination for them that would suit all of their needs, Stanford said.
"This summer had some ups and downs," she said. "However, I think we've finally worked through the kinks and the girls are looking very strong right now. I expect to have a successful and competitive season. We are in a strong district, and we're looking forward to those match ups."
-- BEN STRIKER