YME Sting

Sting middle hitter Nicole Rillo sends the ball over the net during a match against the Paynesville Bulldogs on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, at Yellow Medicine East High School in Granite Falls. Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune

New season, new outlook for YME

The Sting focus on team building and chemistry after going 7-17 last season

BY MICHAEL LYNE | West Central Tribune

GRANITE FALLS — Yellow Medicine East has focused its efforts on team building throughout the offseason as it prepares to play against stiff competition in the Camden Conference.

For YME head coach Alexis Peters, she hopes it will pay dividends for the upcoming season.

“Our program has put in a lot of hard work this summer,” said Peters, who enters her second year as YME’s head coach. “We put a big focus on team building and improving our team chemistry, both on and off the court.”

The Sting enter the 2023 season following a 7-17 record in 2022, which included a 4-8 record in the Camden Conference.

YME has six key roster losses, including Ruby Bones, Aria Peters and Hannah Stark.

Bones, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker who was a 2022 West Central Tribune All-Area Volleyball selection, will soon begin her first year with the Minnesota State-Moorhead volleyball program.

Aria Peters, a 5-6 setter, will play for the St. Cloud Technical and Community College volleyball program.

Stark, a 5-10 outside hitter, is committed to playing women’s basketball for Briar Cliff University.

But the Sting have retained senior Kiara Sakry, who will transition to outside hitter after spending three years as a libero. She was named YME’s defensive player of the year in 2022 after leading the team in digs with 318.

“Our big strength for us this season will be our defense,” Alexis Peters said. “We have scrappy defenders that have a ton of grit in them and our defense at the net is just as strong.”

Alongside Sakry, there are senior setter Riley Streich and sophomore middle hitter Alana Almich who will be in the mix.

Streich will serve as YME’s setter after spending the past three seasons as a defensive specialist. Almich is a “smart and vocal player” for the Sting.

Sakry, Streich and Almich will serve as YME’s leaders.

“We will have a mixture of experienced and inexperienced players at the varsity level, but the talent these newcomers have is amazing,” Peters said. “Even though we lost a handful of great athletes last season, I know this year’s group will be just as great.”