HS Volleyball: Independence returns a veteran squad with state tournament aspirations

Patriots move from AAA back to AA this year

Excitement is building in Coal City and it is not only on the gridiron.

While the early season expectations are not as high for the volleyball team as opposed to the football squad, the Patriots definitely have the ladies this year to make some postseason noise.

Independence did lose all-stater Aubree Cantrell to graduation, but the Patriots return the remaining varsity players with a full year of experience under head coach Ron Moreland.

The Patriots will also make the move from Class AAA to AA this year placing them in the same region as Wyoming East and James Monroe. The Warriors and the Mavericks represented Region 3 last year at the AA State Tournament and both teams return the bulk of those players.

Coach Moreland sat down with me to talk about the upcoming volleyball season.