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BOLD Warriors
Grace Tersteeg, 3, and the rest of the BOLD volleyball team react after a kill by Tersteeg during the first set of a West Central Conference match against West Central Area on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022 at BOLD High School in Olivia. Joe Brown / West Central Tribune
BOLD starts fresh after a big 2022 season
Though the Warriors lost 10 seniors, they are ranked No. 8 in Class A
BY MICHAEL LYNE | West Central Tribune
OLIVIA — After graduating 10 seniors last fall, BOLD head coach Baylie Kubesh feels the Warriors are in position for another successful season.
BOLD had a 22-5 record in 2022. The Warriors were 11-3 in the West Central Conference. Sauk Centre won the WCC with a 14-0 record and the Mainstreeters were 25-3 overall.
Unlike Sauk Centre, BOLD enters the season ranked in the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Poll. The Warriors enter as the No. 8 team in Class A.
“We have a good core group coming back and that’s really nice,” Kubesh said. “It’s very different going from a group
that was senior heavy to now we’re going to be looking at a lot of younger girls or girls who haven’t had varsity time.”
BOLD will be led by senior captains Delaney Tersteeg and Kenzie Visser.
Tersteeg, who was an All-WCC Honorable Mention last season, is a 5-foot-5 libero. Kubesh is looking for her to “step up even more” after the Warriors were senior heavy in the back row a season ago.
Visser, at 5-11, is making “a big switch” this season. She will be utilized as an outside hitter after spending the last couple years as a middle hitter.
“Our seniors this year have stepped up tremendously and they’re all really on board,” Kubesh said of her six seniors. “They’re already hungry to get after it and make a big run in the playoff season — that’s something that they’ve already been talking about.”
Alongside Tersteeg, Ady Knake and Layla Pfarr are names to look out for, according to Kubesh.
Knake, a 5-9 senior outside hitter, had 309 kills, 202 digs, 38 ace serves and 32 blocks in her junior season. She was an All-WCC pick and BOLD’s Team Offensive Player of the Year.
Pfarr, a 5-5 junior setter, recorded 838 set assists, 197 digs, 42 kills and 37 ace serves in her sophomore year. She was the WCC Setter of the Year and was an All-WCC selection.
“We’re not going to be the most outstanding, hard hitters that you’re going to see, but we have the potential to be one of the smarter teams,” Kubesh said. “We’ve got so many girls with a high volleyball IQ.”
And while the program has 32 players listed on the MSHSL website, Kubesh plans to keep her varsity roster low in numbers.
“I want it to be a smaller, connected group,” Kubesh said. “That’s going to be a big thing — just making sure that they’re always connected.”
