By TIM TAYLORTioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — Large numbers and a bevy of experience should make Owego one of the top volleyball teams in Section IV, if not the state, this season.
The River Hawks’ roster boasts 17 players, including 10 seniors, one of which is a foreign exchange student from Brazil.
Coach Abbey Manning also has a half-dozen juniors to work with, so keeping an experienced lineup on the court shouldn’t be a concern.
“I have a pretty ‘old’ team this year,” she said.
Nobody could blame the players if they have some lofty goals this fall.
“I think they all have goals, and that goal is to get further than what we did last year and losing in regional finals,” Manning said. “They wanted that state-bound playoff … and I think they have a really good chance with it being a team that has been together for a few years. Some of these kids have been up on varsity since eighth grade.
“They have a lot of experience up here, which is only going to help them and help them be leaders on this team as well. I do have a ton of leaders, which is awesome.”
Manning knows what needs to be done to follow the path to Glens Falls in November.
“Just focus on our division first and then going from there,” she said. “Going game by game and really working on our mental game too because if we don't have our mental game we won't win games.”
The River Hawks have been working hard on serving and passing in practice.
“If we can't pass the ball, then we won't be able to play volleyball, in general,” Manning said. “We've been working on making sure that our serves are tough and in the court, and in spots that are hard to get and hard to pass, so then we're helping our passers in a way as well because then our passers are passing those difficult balls. Just a lot of serve and pass and I told them that from the very first day that we are doing passing a lot and they're going to love it.”
One problem with being a successful program is getting quality competition. Manning says that’s not an issue for Owego, which also plays in some competitive tournaments outside the league.
“We have a lot of competition in STAC and I think that's helpful because we are learning and growing, but we add in those tournaments as well,” she said. “We have three tournaments this year that we'll see teams that we don't typically see, which helps.”
Manning tries to get all her players in on the action at the tournaments.
“I like to do different lineups, so that helps me also see what my girls are capable of,” she said. “We try to mix it up. This year we're headed to Johnson City, Horseheads and then Dryden.”
Staying fresh during the off-season doesn’t seem to be an issue.
“Looking at my varsity and JV combined, I would say 85 to 90 percent play travel ball,” Manning said, “so they're playing all year round and that's super helpful when it comes to the season. Once travel ball's over in May, they want to get back in the gym in June when it's time to get ready for school ball.”
The team is favored to repeat as STAC Central champions with Corning being the biggest challenge to a STAC overall title.
Owego feels it’s time to end the state championship drought. The last state title came in 2017. Since then the River Hawks have gone 73-13, were the state runners-up in 2018 and have won four Section IV championships in the past five years, losing only to Maine-Endwell in 2022 (no tournament in 2021 due to COVID-19). Owego went 16-3 in 2023, going 1-1 against both Susquehanna Valley and Windsor before sweeping the Black Knights for the STAC title.
The River Hawks open the season at Sus Valley Sept. 5.
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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
