Conneaut Eagles
Coach (season, record): Tim Schleicher (1st season at Conneaut, 7th season overall, 63-47)
2011 overall record: Linesville 25-0; Conneaut Lake 8-10; Conneaut Valley 0-14
2011 region record (place): Linesville 14-0 (champion); Conneaut Lake 5-9 (sixth); Conneaut Valley 0-14 (eighth)
2011 playoff results: Linesville won the District 10 Class A championship and the PIAA championship. Conneaut Lake and Conneaut Valley did not make the District 10 Class A playoffs.
Top players lost: Amber Litwiler, Marissa Johnson, Alexa Moss, Carly Bone, Hope Gregg
Top returning players: Challen Litwiler, Kim Litwin, Hailey Lowery, Kristen Baker, Darian Bodnar, Kristen Laird
Assistant coaches: Dale Flickinger, Leirin Baker
Outlook: Conneaut coach Tim Schleicher is in a unique situation. He led Linesville to a perfect season in 2011, including the PIAA Class A championship. Schleicher was named the coach of the newly-consolidated Conneaut program, which could bolster the returning players from Linesville. Schleicher wanted to wait until practice started to comment on which players could make an impact this season. He should have plenty of athletes to pick from with three programs consolidating. Linesville had up-and-coming star Challen Litwiler, an all-district pick as a sophomore. She also made the all-region first team as an outside hitter. Also back from the Lions is first-team libero Kim Litwin, standout middle hitter Darian Bodnar and junior Kristen Laird. Schleicher could also receive help from Conneaut Lake and Conneaut Valley. Hailey Lowery was a solid middle hitter for Lake last year as a junior, while Kristen Baker was a talented outside hitter for Valley as a sophomore. Conneaut will have a few things going for it with three strong programs consolidating. Schleicher mentioned that depth will not be an issue and playing time will be fiercely competed for. He noticed that the girls that have come out for the team have high volleyball IQ’s and have accepted their roles as teammates after playing as rivals over the past few years. The Eagles have a strong coaching staff as well this season which should help the team come together. Conneaut moved up to Class AA for the next two years and into a new region. The Eagles will no longer play Crawford County powerhouses every night but a collection of teams from several counties. Conneaut has the talent to make a deep PIAA Class AA run this season but building chemistry will be paramount through the first half of the season.
Schedule
September
4 at McDowell 7:30
11 Corry* 7:30
13 at Warren* 7:30
18 Meadville* 7:30
20 Franklin* 7:30
25 at Oil City* 7:30
27 Sharpsville 7:30
October
2 at Titusville* 7:30
3 at Corry* 7:30
9 Warren* 7:30
11 at Meadville* 7:30
16 at Franklin* 7:30
18 Oil City* 7:30
25 Titusville* 7:30
*Region 4 matches
Later today: Corry
– Tom Reisenweber
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