New BBHHS girl’s volleyball head coach to build on winning ways

by Dan Holland

For Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School first-year girls’ head volleyball coach Sydney McKay, it’s all about building on the team’s past successes and teaching a few life lessons along the way.

McKay, who has been coaching volleyball for the past ten years at the CYO, Junior Olympics and high school levels, previously coached three of the team’s current senior players on a Junior Olympics team. She works as a pupil services coordinator at Brecksville-Broadview Heights Elementary School.

McKay said she is hoping to improve on the team’s fourth-place finish last year in the Suburban League National Division, during which it had a 17-7 overall record and a 9-5 mark within the division.

“I have extremely high expectations for my girls, but we also have a lot of fun, and we work really hard to get better day after day,” she said. “It’s not just a sport – I’m big on life lessons being learned along the way as well.”

The team had a busy preseason summer training regimen, according to McKay.

“We were pretty busy this summer with preseason activities and open gyms, and we recently did two-a-days,” she explained. “We took some of our girls to Ohio State for team camp, and we also had Ursuline College come in and do a three-day camp for our underclassmen. We’ve also been doing strength and training condition at MAQ Training in North Royalton.”

The team also participated in a volleyball tournament held at Cedar Point in which the team finished fourth overall out of 24 teams, she added.

McKay is counting on a number of returning players to factor in to the team’s success this season, including seniors Alayne Kraus, Sophia Venesile and Jessie Zenir.

“Kraus will be our center on varsity, and Venesile will be huge defensively for us,” she said. “Zenir is another senior who will be one of my outsides; she will likely play six rotations and not leave the floor.”

The team plans to rely on its quick offense and high volleyball IQ to best teams possessing a height advantage, said McKay.

A remaking of the divisions this year by the OHSAA, which now has seven divisions rather than four, places the team in Division II this year.

“I’m very confident in where we’re at right now and how far we’ll be able to go this season,” said McKay. “I really anticipate us doing well and finishing ahead of last year’s mark.” ∞

Photo: Sydney McKay