With 10 seniors, how high will Columbia Eagles volleyball fly?

With 66 wins over the past two seasons, a remarkable total by any standard, the Columbia Eagles volleyball program continues to excel.

However, coach Kelly Landgraf and the Eagles are searching for a little more playoff magic to help get them deeper into the postseason. Mascoutah eliminated Columbia from the playoffs in two of the last three years and Class 3A gets no easier this season with Mater Dei back in 3A after competing in 4A in 2015.

“Definitely Mascoutah was the team to beat last year,” said Landgraf, whose team won its opener against Alton and will travel to Althoff on Thursday. “We knew that they were expected to do very well and were really talented all the way around. It’s kind of turned into a rivalry a little bit because we keep meeting them in the playoffs.”

The Eagles were ousted by Mascoutah in the sectional final last season, then watched the Indians finish third in the state.

“It’s not an easy road to get there in 3A,” said Landgraf, who has strengthened Columbia’s schedule in an effort to find more playoff success.

It doesn’t hurt that the Cahokia Conference powerhouse returns a deep and experienced squad that includes 10 seniors, led by outside hitter Colene Hamilton, middle hitter Alyssa Yochum and libero Kelly Metter.

Hamilton ranks in the top four in Columbia volleyball history with 718 career kills, including 303 last season as a junior. She also had 350 digs a year ago.

“She’s just absolutely a complete player,” Landgraf said. “She can play the back row or play any position on the court. She could set, she could play libero or DS (defensive specialist). She’s quick and extremely smart and she’s a hard worker.”

Hamilton may pass up a chance to play indoor volleyball in college for a chance at a beach volleyball scholarship. She played a lot of beach volleyball over the summer and seems ready to pursue that route.

“Right now there’s 40-plus schools that have sand volleyball,” Landgraf said.

Yochum (223 kills, 56 blocks) adds another dominant hitter up front while Metter (588 digs, 22 service aces) will anchor the defense. Senior setter Liz Fleming piled up 493 assists last season, averaging more than six per game, while leading the team with 32 service aces.

“They provide a ton of varsity experience, and they’ve been in a lot of big games, so that definitely helps,” said Landgraf, who has numerous Eagles on the Missouri Extreme club volleyball team.

Developing better team chemistry and mental toughness are two of Columbia’s goals this season.

“We can run any drill that we want, but when it comes to game-time, it comes down to being mentally tough and being able to pull yourself out of difficult situations,” Landgraf said.

Also returning are senior middle Jordan Hausmann (159 kills, team-leading 108 blocks), senior outside hitter Shea Bradshaw (85 kills, 36 blocks), with senior Ashley Warren (91 kills, 27 blocks) moving from right-side hitter to setter.

Right side hitter Sydney Bullock also saw varsity action last season. Senior Blair Wittenbrink, junior Ellie Stone and senior Nicole Joergens are all expected to make contributions along with junior Mia Valleroy.

“This is just a solid group all the way through,” Landgraf said. “On a night when they’re all on, when everyone is having a great game, they’re going to be tough to beat.”

This story was originally published August 24, 2016 at 7:15 PM with the headline "With 10 seniors, how high will Columbia Eagles volleyball fly?."