By Amanda Eggert EBS Senior Editor
BIG SKY – Lone Peak High School’s volleyball program fielded a well-rounded team this year, as demonstrated by the All-Conference honors awarded to three Big Horns at the season’s close.
In the setter position, senior Kuka Holder was named to the first team All-Conference. “She’s very steady, consistent and reliable,” said Lone Peak head coach Missy Botha. “[She’s] pretty much the quarterback of the team … she runs the play.”
Botha said Holder did well reading the blocks coming from the other side of the net and making the call to set the ball to one of the hitters, or dump it over the net for a quick tip. Holder was also named to the All-Conference team last year.
Junior middle hitter Solae Swenson is receiving All-Conference honors for the second time as well. She was voted onto the All-Conference team as a freshman at the close of the 2015 season.
Botha said Swenson’s built her reputation upon the sheer strength of her hitting, but she also has an energetic, positive attitude that helped out the team by steering the momentum in Lone Peak’s favor. “When she gets set up and puts a ball straight down, it’s a joy to watch because it usually gets the crowd going,” Botha said.
In the back row, senior libero Bryn Iskendarian proved to be crucial to the team this year by sending accurate passes to Holder, digging difficult hits from opponents, and racking up points with her serves.
“Bryn is a jack-of-all-trades because she’s played every position and started in every position over the last four years,” Botha said. “It’s very impressive that she was voted All-Conference as a libero,” she said, adding that the libero position requires a high degree of skill—particularly when it comes to reading the opposing team’s offense.
All-Conference awards are voted on by the coaches on all of the district’s teams at the close of the district tournament. Each coach votes for the strongest players on other teams in the district; they are not allowed to vote for their own players.
