Kahok Girls Look to Capitalize on New Interest in Volleyball
By Mark Jurgena
Coach Katie McCarthy looks to capitalize on a newfound interest in the sport of volleyball around the Collinsville community.
The Kahoks have 27 players in their program for the 2021 season and will play at all three levels, freshman, JV, and varsity.
“It’s going really good,” said McCarthy. “The girls are working super hard and everybody is getting along great. The atmosphere is really good right now.”
Not only is there the excitement of a new season under a first-year head coach, but there’s also the residual effect of that gold medal-winning USA women’s volleyball team and Collinsville native Michelle Bartsch-Hackley.
“I think it has (helped),” she said. “On Tuesday, our first practice after tryouts, we did a red, white, and blue day where everyone wore USA colors. I think the energy definitely was there.”
McCarthy has wasted no time getting down to the fundamentals of the game with her club.
“Our biggest focus right now is serve-receive and defense,” she said. “We are trying to be the fastest team that we can be. We’ve really been focusing on ball control and breaking down serve-receive. That’s our biggest goal right now.”
CHS opens up on Monday, August 23rd at Chatham (Glenwood). McCarthy indicated getting back into the flow of games was a big thing she was looking forward to.
“I know I’m excited to start playing games and have fans back in the stands again; more of a normal atmosphere,” she began. “I think we’re excited for a pretty normal season except for masks.”
With the recent indoor mask mandate in Illinois, the fall sport of volleyball will see players in masks much like they did during the recently concluded spring season.
“We played a season with them already, so I don’t think it’s too big of an issue,” McCarthy said. “They’re not excited about wearing them, but we would rather wear them than not have a season.”
2021 Collinsville Girls
Volleyball Schedule
Date Opponent Location
Aug. 23 Chatham (Glenwood) Away
Aug. 26 Highland HOME
Aug. 28 Breese (Central) Away
Aug. 30 (Althoff) HOME
Sept. 2 Eville Away
Sept. 8 Waterloo HOME
Sept. 9 Granite City Away
Sept. 11 Mascoutah Tournament Away
Sept. 14 B. (West) HOME
Sept. 16 Alton Alton
Sept. 20 Centralia Away
Sept. 21 O’Fallon HOME
Sept. 23 B. (East) Away
Sept. 27 Columbia HOME
Sept. 28 E. St. Louis HOME
Oct. 1 Triad Round Robin Away
Oct. 5 Eville HOME
Oct. 12 B. (West) Away
Oct. 14 Alton HOME
Oct. 18 Marquette HOME
Oct. 19 O’Fallon Away
Oct. 21 B. (East) HOME
Oct. 26 IHSA Regional HOME
Nov. 1 IHSA Sectional TBA
Nov. 5 IHSA Super-Sectional TBA
Nov. 12 IHSA State Finals TBA
