Litchfield Dragons

Litchfield’s Morgan Falling, 5, pushes the ball over the net during a Section 3AANorth semifinal match against Paynesville on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022 at Paynesville. Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

Dragons will rely on many new players

Litchfield comes in with a lot of newcomers after losing 5 seniors

BY MICHAEL LYNE | West Central Tribune

LITCHFIELD — There will be plenty of freshness for Litchfield this fall.

The Dragons enter the 2023 season after graduating five seniors who played big minutes, including All-Wright County Conference selections Olivia Holmgren and Greta Hansen.

Litchfield was 16-13 last season with a 4-3 conference record.

“After a successful 2022 season, led by a large group of experienced seniors, we will be looking at a lot of players and a lot of options to see what our 2023 team identity will be,” said Darin Swenson, who enters his 19th season as Litchfield’s head coach. “We have a lot of young players who are hungry to prove themselves and put themselves in a position to be contributors on this year’s varsity squad.”

Litchfield will be led by its two returning starters: Morgan Falling and Asha Ehlers.

Falling is a 5-foot-8 senior outside hitter and Ehlers is a 5-8 junior outside hitter.

“Morgan is an all-around player that can impact the game from any position,” Swenson said. “Asha is a powerful hitter that is looking to have a breakout year.”

More seniors on the roster include: Eva Sohl, a 5-8 middle/right-side hitter; Carli Gabrielson, a 5-7 middle hitter; Izzy Culbertson, a 5-6 defensive specialist.

Alongside Ehlers, there are three more juniors: Anna Sorgatz, a 5-6 defensive specialist; Allison Kargas, a 5-5 defensive specialist; Grace Holmgren, a 5-2 setter.

Rounding out Litchfield’s varsity lineup are five sophomores: Chloe Kowalczyk, a 5-5 setter; Kierra Lease, a 5-10 middle hitter; Kelsey Palmer, a 5-8 right-side/outside hitter; Lydia Schultz, a 5-5 outside hitter.

“Having a large number of players that can play multiple positions, we will have the opportunity to try some unconventional lineups to give us a different look for the 2023 season,” Swenson said. “It is going to be an exciting season to see this group of Dragons develop from match-to-match.”