This year the Fredericktown Lady Blackcats volleyball team has been very successful, with a record of 25-7-2. There were a lot of changes this volleyball season, including a new head coach, Nickey Reutzel, and a new assistant coach, Carson Penwell. Coach Reutzel is not only the head volleyball coach, but she is also taking the role of Fredericktown High School’s new principal.
There are three senior volleyball players this year, including Gabbie McFadden, Ava Penuel, and Nikolija Mihajlovik, our foreign exchange student who is visiting us from Serbia. This is Gabbie and Ava’s fourth consecutive year playing on the Lady Cats volleyball team. They will be greatly missed next year by both those who have watched and shared the court with them.
In the class 3 district 1 volleyball tournament, Fredericktown first played the Kennett Indians and won the game 3-0. In the second game of the district tournament, they were not as lucky. With 5 points left of their semi-final district game, one of their star players, PJ Reutzel (11), was injured. Losing a player resulted in a lot of stress for the Lady Cats volleyball team, having very rarely played without her. During this game, they were head to head with the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders, but they ended up losing 3-2 in the fourth set. On October 24th the Crusaders claimed the championship in the final game against Notre Dame with a score of 3-0, and the Fredericktown Lady Cats placed third.
The Lady Cats gave it their all throughout this season, dedicating their time and efforts to achieve a great year. The teamwork and sportsmanship that the players showed is truly inspiring. They constantly keep the coaches and fans on their toes. Thank you to the Lady Cats volleyball players for an outstanding 2023 volleyball season.