Titans have 1 returner, handful of unknowns

• Alyson Schieno

Press File Photo / Illustration by Dustin Monke Dickinson Trinity senior Alyson Schieno watches her kill during the Region 7 Tournament semifinals on Nov. 8 at Knights of Columbus Activities Center. Schieno is one of only a handful of returners for the Titans.

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• Region 7 Volleyball Capsules

In her first year as Dickinson Trinity’s head volleyball coach, Rayma Braaten inherited a senior heavy lineup.

In her second year, Braaten has one returning starter and a lineup full of unknowns.

However, she said with a smile, “Teams might not be afraid of us, but they should be.”

The Titans return senior starter Alyson Schieno, who was one of top hitters in Region 7 last season, juniors Katelyn Grinsteinner and Gretchen Weir and sophomore Katelyn Dockter, who came off the bench last year.

“Right now I have one starter from last year,” Braaten said. “I think the chemistry of this team is that they get along really well. I think we are going to surprise some people.”

Trinity graduated eight seniors from last year, including middle hitter Nikki Grinsteinner, setter Sam Gordon and outside hitter Andrea Jirges. Schieno said it was an incredible experience learned from last year’s senior class.

“I did learn a lot all the way from being on varsity my freshman year,” she said. “Now it’s my time to show people what the seniors did last year. Nikki Grinsteinner was incredible and I learned a lot from her. I try to put my standards up to where she was.”

The Titans wrapped up last year with a 22-18 overall record and lost to Beulah in the Region 7 championship match. Braaten said she was able to learn the ins and outs of coaching in Region 7 during her first season.

“I feel more comfortable now coming in this year,” Braaten said. “I learned how the game goes in conversely what I was thinking before. I feel like I know the teams a little better. After playing a whole season, I know what we are playing against.”

Katelyn Grinsteinner, the younger sister of former Trinity standout Nikki, will likely take the place of Gordon as the team’s main setter. Katelyn said watching her sister and the rest of the seniors last year were positive reinforcement for the volleyball program.

“They (the seniors from last year) set a really good example for us,” Katelyn Grinsteinner said. “We’re just trying to build off of what they started, so we can continue the good program.”

The rest of the lineup isn’t going to be set for a while. Likely for the first part of the season. Braaten said everyone will get a chance to show what they can bring to the table.

“I’m going to be floating around a lot,” she said. “I would say a majority of them will be coming in and out. I won’t have a set starting lineup. It will be switching it around. The girls already know about it and we’re just going to see how things work.”

Katelyn Grinsteinner said there’s excitement brewing around the team to start the regular season.

“A bunch of our fundamentals are going well right now,” she said. “We have a lot of good passers in the back row and our hitters are really putting it down on the floor. We know that we have the talent, We’re just trying to put it all together and play as a team.”

Tags: high school volleyball, trinity titans, region 7 volleyball, sports