By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
It's a big week for the Napa Valley College volleyball team.
It's the first week that the entire team has been together.
It's the first week of practices, with head coach Scott Bishop leading players through training and drills, while also starting to install offensive and defensive systems.
"Super excited to finally get the whole team together and be able to start just building those connections and working on getting on the same page together as a team," Bishop said after a 2 ½-hour practice on Monday night.
"The first couple practices, and most of the practices this month, at the beginning of season, are going to be ball-control oriented. So, a lot of passing and setting and serving, and just those fundamentals."
The focus of Monday's practice was about pace, said Bishop, who is in his first season with the Storm.
"We wanted to just initiate balls faster, switch faster, perform the skill faster, and just try to simulate a little bit more of the urgency of a game feel to make sure that we're practicing that type of intensity in our matches as well. It really helps us also just be a lot more efficient and get a lot more touches as well. Just be challenged more.
"I think the focus on pace was accomplished and helped energize them, even though they're super tired for all the work they have put in so far. But tonight was one of our best practices so far."
It's an all-freshman team, with 13 players on the NVC roster.
NVC did not have a team last year. Bishop took over as coach in January. He has coached high school, community college, major-college, club and collegiate club volleyball.
Practices for Napa Valley, a member of the Bay Valley Conference, began on Sunday.
"We started (Sunday) on the court, and mainly just having a lot of fun, getting to work hard with people that we haven't known before and are now going to be really good friends with and really good teammates," said Bishop.
Monday was a big day for the team, with a morning session, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The players did mobility work and stretches, from 2-3 p.m. This was followed by a team meeting. The Storm's setters had a 30-minute workout, starting at 5:30 p.m. The entire team had a practice, from 6-8 p.m.
With the volume of work that they are putting time, Bishop said it's going to be a challenging start to the season.
"It's definitely going to be testing a lot of them. They're going to be pretty sore, pretty tired. But we need to hit the ground running. So, that's definitely what we're doing," said Bishop.
Napa Valley begins an extensive nonconference season with three matches on Friday, Aug. 23, all at City College of San Francisco. The Storm faces Reedley College at 2 p.m., Allan Hancock College-Santa Maria at 4 p.m., and CCSF at 6 p.m.
Leading a brand-new team, Bishop said it's an "incredible opportunity" for the Storm to try and get better and to also be challenged early in the season, to also see what it is that they need to work on.
"We're certainly going to try to be as competitive as we can," said Bishop. "We're still building the team, and so those fundamental core building blocks are going to come first. So, let's have some great attitudes. Let's work hard. Let's communicate well with each other. Let's stay super positive as we're working through all of the mistakes and inconsistencies that come with the beginning of the season and building a new team, and try to have a lot of fun doing it, doing it together.
"We're going to definitely compete. We're really aiming for long-term developmental goals."
The Storm continues its season with two matches on Aug. 28 at Sacramento City College, as they meet Lassen College-Susanville at 3 p.m. and Sac City at 5 p.m.
NVC's first home match of the season is on Aug. 30 against Las Positas College-Livermore at 6 p.m.
In all, the Storm has 14 nonconference matches.
"It's a late start to the conference. We have about six weeks of preseason, and we need every one of those weeks to get ready for conference," said Bishop. "There's some really strong teams we have in our preseason."
It's been a good start to the season for Napa Valley.
"They've been very excited and enthusiastic to just start this journey," said Bishop. "I think we're all feeling very lucky and fortunate to come from all of our different paths to be together here. We're just trying to make the most of it.
"We're not overdoing it physically, because they're already getting a ton of volleyball and a ton of jumping to begin with. But we're doing things to just have them be more flexible. Definitely some mobility exercises."
Bishop has coached at different levels of volleyball for 30 years
Bishop was the head coach at Campolindo High School-Moraga from 2002-2011. He led the Cougars to CIF state championships in 2006 and 2010.
He started the UC Berkeley women's collegiate club program and was the team's coach (2011-2012). He led Cal to a fifth-place national finish.
He was a volunteer assistant coach for the UC Berkeley women's team (2001, 2013).
He was El Cerrito High's head coach (2013-2022).
He was the head coach at both Holy Names University of Oakland (1995-96) and Los Medanos College-Pittsburg (1997-1999).
He was an assistant coach at both the University of San Francisco (1996-1997) and San Francisco State (1999-2001).
He has also been with Absolute Volleyball Club and Golden Bear Volleyball Club.
A look at the 2024 NVC volleyball team:
* Gracie Stepp, middle blocker/right side hitter, Paradise.
* Adelina Avila-Navarro, libero/defensive specialist, Lincoln-Stockton.
* Rylee Santos, setter, Yerington-NV.
* Helena White, middle blocker/right side hitter, Priest River Lamanna-Priest River-Idaho.
* Kendal Widell, outside hitter/right side hitter, Twelve Bridges-Lincoln.
* Keana Daneshmand, outside hitter/right side hitter, International Polytech-Claremont.
* Jordynne Hensley, outside hitter/right side hitter, Toledo-Winlock, WA.
* Caitlin Kenney, middle blocker/right side hitter, Vintage-Napa.
* Sydnee Coulthrust, setter, Fullerton Union-Fullerton.
* Sofia Camargo, outside hitter/defensive specialist, Fullerton Union-Fullerton.
* Aubri LaPointe, outside hitter/defensive specialist, Napa.
* Ava Pendleton, outside hitter/defensive specialist, Winston Churchill-Eugene, Ore.
* Willow Diamond, middle blocker/right side hitter, Woodrow Wilson-Long Beach.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.