Expectations The Same At Valley
November 1, 2017 at 3:57 p.m.
Expectations The Same At Valley
By Dale [email protected]
Coming out of the most successful four-year span in program history, the Lady Vikings are eager to prove how strong of a foundation they’ve built.
Anne Secrest, Meredith Brouyette and Hannah Dunn were standouts in a class that led Valley to three consecutive Three Rivers Conference titles, a trio of sectional championships and a Class 3A state finals berth in 2015.
Last season’s senior class led Valley to an overall record of 85-17 in its four years, as well as a mark of 30-2 in TRC play that includes a current 28-game win streak against league opponents.
It’s now up to seniors Olivia Trippiedi, Addy Miller and Asia O’Connor, as well as juniors Sophie Bussard, Emily Peterson and Sarah Tucker, amongst others, to lead the way.
“As much as we’re going to miss those players in terms of what they did on the floor, I think the biggest thing we’re going to miss is the leadership aspect,” said Kindig, who enters his eighth season at Valley with a record of 112-51.
“This group that we have right now, I think there’s some leaders in there, it’s just that they’re not real vocal leaders. They kind of lead by what they do out there on the floor.
“Last year’s senior group was great about communication in practice, getting girls to come to offseason workouts, just a lot of different aspects. So a big key for us will be who is gonna step up and do that for us? You have people graduate every year. It’s one of those things where the next people step up, and we’ve got enough talent to do well this year.”
Joining the aforementioned seniors and juniors on this year’s varsity roster are sophomores Emma Craig, Jillian Walls, Makenzie Woodcox and Karina Young.
Miller averaged just under nine points per game as a junior last year, and also added nearly three rebounds, two steals and two assists per game.
Bussard scored a little over eight points per game as a sophomore, while adding four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals per outing.
The 5-foot-11 O’Connor averaged three points and three boards per contest as a junior. She will be the primary post player for Valley with the graduation of Secrest, the program’s all-time leading scorer and current freshman at Youngstown State University.
“Asia O’Connor is going to be our primary post player, and she’s gotten stronger and improved,” said Kindig. “She was our sixth, seventh man last year, and I think she’s going to be a big key for us. We’ve got to have post defense, and we’ve got to have a post presence. As far as our outside shooting, I think we’re gonna be fine, it’s just whether or not we can develop an inside presence.
“Olivia Trippiedi will probably be at the point this year, and then Addy Miller is a three-year starter for us. We’ll rely on her for scoring ... she’s capable of a 15 or 20-point average. The key with her is can she do some of the other things for us? Can she get some rebounds? Can she take care of the basketball? Can she play defense?
“Those three seniors are the core of our team, but then you have Sophie Bussard, who was a starter last year. I think she’s improved tremendously.
“Last year it was tough to get touches for the offensive players had. The roles are going to be a lot better defined this year. Sophie Bussard is gonna have to score. Emily Peterson is gonna have to score. They are both scorers. Addy Miller is a scorer. We’re going to have to get a lot of our points from them, and then Olivia Trippiedi and Asia O’Connor, and we have several sophomores who are stepping up to the varsity team.”
The Lady Vikings open the season Thursday when they host Bremen.
Valley will play its first seven games at home, a stretch that also includes opponents Culver Academies, Logansport, Warsaw, TRC foe Maconaquah and the annual Thanksgiving Classic.
“The bar has been set pretty high, and with the personnel we have I don’t expect us to take a step backward,” said Kindig. “We’re gonna be a different type of team, a different style, but the expectations aren’t any lower than what they have been the last three or four years.
“We still want to win the conference, that’s important to us. There’s some key games on our schedule that are non-conference games that we want to take care of. And we want to make a run in the tournament.
“I think we’re gonna be competitive in all those aspects, but there’s gonna be some nights where we’re gonna have to figure out how to win basketball games when our perimeter shooting isn’t where it can be. But there’s gonna be nights where if we shoot the ball well, we’re gonna be awfully tough to beat.”
Kindig will be joined on the bench again by longtime assistant Alissa Trippiedi.
New to the staff this year is junior varsity coach Rebekah Parker, who was the program’s all-time leading scorer when she graduated in 2004 as an Indiana All-Star and headed to play at Evansville University.
Coming out of the most successful four-year span in program history, the Lady Vikings are eager to prove how strong of a foundation they’ve built.
Anne Secrest, Meredith Brouyette and Hannah Dunn were standouts in a class that led Valley to three consecutive Three Rivers Conference titles, a trio of sectional championships and a Class 3A state finals berth in 2015.
Last season’s senior class led Valley to an overall record of 85-17 in its four years, as well as a mark of 30-2 in TRC play that includes a current 28-game win streak against league opponents.
It’s now up to seniors Olivia Trippiedi, Addy Miller and Asia O’Connor, as well as juniors Sophie Bussard, Emily Peterson and Sarah Tucker, amongst others, to lead the way.
“As much as we’re going to miss those players in terms of what they did on the floor, I think the biggest thing we’re going to miss is the leadership aspect,” said Kindig, who enters his eighth season at Valley with a record of 112-51.
“This group that we have right now, I think there’s some leaders in there, it’s just that they’re not real vocal leaders. They kind of lead by what they do out there on the floor.
“Last year’s senior group was great about communication in practice, getting girls to come to offseason workouts, just a lot of different aspects. So a big key for us will be who is gonna step up and do that for us? You have people graduate every year. It’s one of those things where the next people step up, and we’ve got enough talent to do well this year.”
Joining the aforementioned seniors and juniors on this year’s varsity roster are sophomores Emma Craig, Jillian Walls, Makenzie Woodcox and Karina Young.
Miller averaged just under nine points per game as a junior last year, and also added nearly three rebounds, two steals and two assists per game.
Bussard scored a little over eight points per game as a sophomore, while adding four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals per outing.
The 5-foot-11 O’Connor averaged three points and three boards per contest as a junior. She will be the primary post player for Valley with the graduation of Secrest, the program’s all-time leading scorer and current freshman at Youngstown State University.
“Asia O’Connor is going to be our primary post player, and she’s gotten stronger and improved,” said Kindig. “She was our sixth, seventh man last year, and I think she’s going to be a big key for us. We’ve got to have post defense, and we’ve got to have a post presence. As far as our outside shooting, I think we’re gonna be fine, it’s just whether or not we can develop an inside presence.
“Olivia Trippiedi will probably be at the point this year, and then Addy Miller is a three-year starter for us. We’ll rely on her for scoring ... she’s capable of a 15 or 20-point average. The key with her is can she do some of the other things for us? Can she get some rebounds? Can she take care of the basketball? Can she play defense?
“Those three seniors are the core of our team, but then you have Sophie Bussard, who was a starter last year. I think she’s improved tremendously.
“Last year it was tough to get touches for the offensive players had. The roles are going to be a lot better defined this year. Sophie Bussard is gonna have to score. Emily Peterson is gonna have to score. They are both scorers. Addy Miller is a scorer. We’re going to have to get a lot of our points from them, and then Olivia Trippiedi and Asia O’Connor, and we have several sophomores who are stepping up to the varsity team.”
The Lady Vikings open the season Thursday when they host Bremen.
Valley will play its first seven games at home, a stretch that also includes opponents Culver Academies, Logansport, Warsaw, TRC foe Maconaquah and the annual Thanksgiving Classic.
“The bar has been set pretty high, and with the personnel we have I don’t expect us to take a step backward,” said Kindig. “We’re gonna be a different type of team, a different style, but the expectations aren’t any lower than what they have been the last three or four years.
“We still want to win the conference, that’s important to us. There’s some key games on our schedule that are non-conference games that we want to take care of. And we want to make a run in the tournament.
“I think we’re gonna be competitive in all those aspects, but there’s gonna be some nights where we’re gonna have to figure out how to win basketball games when our perimeter shooting isn’t where it can be. But there’s gonna be nights where if we shoot the ball well, we’re gonna be awfully tough to beat.”
Kindig will be joined on the bench again by longtime assistant Alissa Trippiedi.
New to the staff this year is junior varsity coach Rebekah Parker, who was the program’s all-time leading scorer when she graduated in 2004 as an Indiana All-Star and headed to play at Evansville University.
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