After losing key players to graduation and families moving out of the district, the Moundridge High School volleyball team will be looking for new team leaders when the squad hits the court.
“Experience isn’t overrated,” head coach Bryan Otte said. “There’s a reason why experienced teams have success.”
Otte is assisted by Lindsey Begnoche and Britney Stos, and Begnoche agreed with Otte’s assessment.
“We have a lot of gaps to fill from last year,” she said. “We don’t have any proven players.”
Otte said many of the girls on the team lack experience playing varsity competition.
“There are a lot of spots up for grabs,” he said. “The competition in the gym should be legendary.”
Decisions about who will play in those positions won’t be made by the coaches. Instead, the players themselves will determine who gets playing time.
This is because Otte and his staff use data and analytics extensively.
Every time a player touches the ball, the occurrence and results of the play are recorded by the coaches and the student managers.
This data is turned into statistical information, which is then calculated into a score for each athlete.
The players with the highest score get the playing positions, allowing them to dictate who sees the court.
“Our system is more college oriented,” Otte said. “It’s more advanced, and that takes a lot of communication, more precise ball control, and a lot of reps.”
It takes Otte and his staff two to three weeks to get all the players up to speed with how the team operates.
Part of that work begins in the offseason.
During the summer, the Wildcats lifted weights and did conditioning Monday through Thursday, and on Mondays they played volleyball.
Also, they participated in a volleyball camp at Wichita State University, and they had their team camp.
The season officially started with practices on Aug. 17, and Otte said their first tournament is Aug. 28 in Inman.
Both Otte and Begnoche agreed that Inman and Sedgwick always have good athletes, and Ellinwood and Hillsboro are solid every year, which are two other teams the Wildcats will face over the course of the season.
For that reason, Otte said his players would have to work hard.
“I have a reputation for my positivity, my extreme overzealous positivity,” Otte said. “I think we as a society have to figure out what has value and what doesn’t anymore. Work ethic is struggling right now, so we’re certainly trying to do our part to help fix that.”
It will take commitment to achieve the team’s goal, which Otte said is always the same.
“Our goal every year is to be a state champion, or to play the last day of state and fight for a state championship,” he said. “At least have that shot. That’s always our goal.”
Though 2026 is his and his assistant coaches’ third year helming the squad, they aren’t strangers to MHS volleyball.
From 1997 through 2007, Otte served his first stint as head coach for MHS volleyball.
Begnoche and Stos played for him.
Between his tours of duty with Moundridge, he led the Valley Center High School volleyball program from 2008 through 2014.
In 2011, his team went 41-3, setting the single-season school record for highest winning percentage (.932), and all his Hornets teams won at least 30 matches each season during his tenure.
During his first 11 years in Moundridge, though, he won five state titles, and that is why his expectations for all his teams remain high.
“We have the tradition here,” he said. “I don’t see why we would ever back away from that.”
2026 MHS Volleyball Schedule
8/29 – Varsity at Inman Tourney, 9 a.m.
9/8 – Home with Remington & Classical, 4 p.m.
9/12 – Varsity at Goessel Tourney, 8:30 a.m.
9/15 – at Bennington , 4 p.m.
9/17 – Home with Inman, 4 p.m.
9/19 – Varsity Tourney at Marion, 9 a.m.
9/22 – Home with Sterling, 4 p.m.
9/24 – at Sterling (vs Segwick and CCA), 4 p.m.
9/29 – Home with Trinity (Parents Night), 4 p.m.
10/3 – Varsity at Belle Plaine Tourney, 8:30 a.m.
10/5 – C-Team at Hillsboro, 4 p.m.
10/6 – at Marion, 4 p.m.
10/10 – JV Tourney at Halstead, 9 a.m.
10/13 – at Ell-Saline, 4 p.m.
10/19 or 10/20 – Regionals, TBD
10/24 – Substate, TBD
10/29 and 10/31 – State, TBD
