Abbi Winter enters her final season with the Andale Indians volleyball program with plenty of experience, confidence and lofty expectations.
The senior setter is coming off a strong junior season in which she averaged 12.8 assists and four digs per match while recording 0.4 aces per match with a 95.8% serving percentage. Winter also reached 1,000 career assists and earned second-team all-league honors.
Now, she wants to build on those accomplishments while helping Andale make another run at a state championship.
“My individual goal for this season is to get as many assists as I can for my last season,” Winter said. “I hit 1,000 last season, but I want to see how much I surpass that mark by.”
Winter believes the Indians have the personnel to make another deep postseason run. Andale returns key players while also welcoming several new faces who Winter expects to contribute immediately.
“I am excited to play with my returning and new teammates,” Winter said. “I think we have a chance to do very well this year.”
One of the strengths Winter sees in the Indians is their ability to pass and attack, which should give her plenty of opportunities to run the offense from the setter position.
“We have very good passers and hitters, so it is very easy for me to get a good set for them,” Winter said.
Andale’s preparation began well before the start of the season. Winter and her teammates spent the summer participating in the school’s weight program, volleyball skills sessions and conditioning workouts.
Winter said the weight program has been an important part of preparing the Indians physically.
“At Andale, we have a very good weight program in the summer, and a lot of girls participate in it,” Winter said. “When we play volleyball, our coach, Scott, wants us involved in this because strength training is important.”
The Indians also held volleyball skills sessions twice a week, giving the players an opportunity to get more repetitions and prepare for tryouts. The summer concluded with two weeks of early-morning conditioning sessions in the gym.
The workouts focused on endurance and vertical jumping, two areas that can make a significant difference during a long volleyball season.
While Winter has established herself as an accomplished setter, she has identified communication as one area she wants to improve during her senior season.
“I think it is important to talk while playing because it helps the flow of the game move better,” Winter said.
Winter wants to become more effective at communicating with Andale’s hitters, particularly after delivering a set.
“I want to be able to tell the hitters what spots are open after I set them, so they can swing to the open spot,” she said.
She began working on that skill during summer competition, particularly during 6-on-6 sessions with her teammates. Andale uses a color system to identify areas of the court, giving Winter an opportunity to practice communicating where openings are located.
“I would try to do that as much as I could,” Winter said.
With a strong offseason behind them and a talented group returning, Winter believes the Indians have plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
Her team goal is simple: improve throughout the season, win the substate championship and ultimately repeat as state champions.
“I want to win our substate, and then win state again,” Winter said.
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