Sperling takes over reins of OHS volleyball program

School counselor Samantha Sperling may be in her first year of coaching volleyball at OHS, but she has plenty of experience, having coached AAU teams in both Ogden and Paton-Churdan.

She is taking over a team that in 2016 tied the record for the most wins in Ogden volleyball history.

“We are looking to build on the program,” says Coach Sperling. “We have a lot of talent with the younger girls who are stepping up from where they were last year and I am anxious to see what they can do.”

Just from camp until now she has seen a lot of improvement with serving and hitting, two areas she feels may be the team’s strength this year. In practice the coach has incorporated some different serves, ones the team hasn’t practiced in the past.

“We are a team both on the court and off,” Coach Sperling emphasizes to her girls. She sees this year’s captains, Maranda Wheelock, Courtney Paulsen and Abby Langel as leaders who will definitely help the team out in that respect.

The freshmen, JV and varsity squads scrimmaged in Ames Wednesday, Aug. 16 against Ames, Gilbert, Boone and Nevada, where they tested their skills against some bigger schools. The coach would get a sense of how the Bulldogs match up with other teams in the WCAC during a conference scrimmage last Thursday, at Woodward-Granger.  

Read more in the Aug. 23 issue of The Ogden Reporter.

PHOTO ID: 2017 OHS VOLLEYBALL: Front row, left to right, Courtney Paulsen, Maranda Wheelock, Abby Kieffer. Second row: Myra Bolton, Jaycee McClain, Allea Klauenberg, Abby Langel, Abby Lentz. Third row: Karsyn Clark, Faith Mohr, Gabby Ross, Denali Loecker, Jenna Palmer, Margo Christensen. Back row: Coach Samantha Sperling,  Shaylie Johannsen, Elise Tromblay, Makayla Claude, Ruby Clayton, Reagan Church, Kayla Pfiffner, Coach Morgan Bennett.    -Reporter photo by Shannon Wirtz