NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT - STC junior co-captain Paisley Bro earned all-WaMaC first team honors. She led the Trojans with 214 kills on the season.

This fall, the STC volleyball program had one of its most successful seasons in the last two decades. Gathering at the fall sports banquet on Monday evening, November 10, the Trojan volleyball players and coaches had a lot to celebrate.

First-year coach Emily Chyma noted that STC finished with a record of 19-18, which was their most wins in the last 16 years (20-17-1 in the 2009 season). Highlights of the season included winning the South Tama Invitational, and finishing runner-up at both the GMG and BCLUW tournaments. The Trojans ended the season by going 1-1 at the annual WaMaC conference tournament and dropping the class 3A, regional playoff opening round match to Pella Christian. “It was a joy and privilege to coach this team and coach with my assistants,” Chyma said.

STC also celebrated several individual honors from this year’s team. The Trojans were led by junior Paisley Bro, who earned a spot on the all-WaMaC first team. Bro led the Trojans in kills this fall with a total of 214. She is only the 8th Trojan to have more than 200 kills in a season in the last 18 years. Bro also ranked 5th in assists for her team (9), 4th in blocks (40), 4th in digs (70), 3rd in serve success (192), and 1st in aces (37). Bro’s 37 aces just missed out on the top-ten all-time for STC in a single season (10th: Alexa Rohach in 2008 with 38 aces). It is the second season in a row that the Trojans have placed an athlete on the WaMaC first team (2024: Janette Cervantes). It is the second year in a row that Bro has earned conference honors. Last season during her sophomore campaign, Bro earned a spot on the all-WaMaC second team.

“It means a lot,” Bro said of the first-team honor. “It is special to see all of the hard work pay off during both the season and the off season.”

STC also had a pair of sophomores that earned all-WaMaC honors. Maylee Rucker earned a spot on the all-conference second team. Rucker was 6th on the team in blocks (24), 2nd in digs (101), and 2nd in aces (35). She led the Trojans in assists this season with a total of 579. That number represents the 5th most assists in a single season in STC history. Rucker also led the team with a serve success number of 280, which placed her 6th all time for that category in a single season for STC. “The 2nd team honor made me realize how hard I’ve worked and how other coaches viewed me as an athlete,” said Rucker. At the banquet, Rucker also received the team MVP award from the STC coaches. Rucker’s season is especially impressive considering it was her first season playing the position of setter.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT - STC sophomore Stella Zmolek earned all-WaMaC second tea honors.  Zmolek contributed 177 kills this season.

Joining Rucker on the all-WaMaC second team was sophomore Stella Zmolek. Zmolek was 2nd on the team in kills (177), 5th in blocks (34), 5th in serve success (124) and 6th in aces (12).

Zmolek’s 177 kills is the 12th highest total for the Trojans in the last 18 seasons. At the banquet, Zmolek also received the offensive MVP award from the coaches. “Earning the WaMaC second team made me realize how all of the hard work I put in paid off,” said Zmolek of the honor.

Earning WaMaC recognition this season were seniors Rylee Ridout and Madeline Paxton. Ridout finished 3rd on the team in kills (79) and 2nd in blocks (44). Paxton finished 6th on the team in assists (7), 6th in digs (23), and 10th in aces (4). Ridout, Paxton, and Bro served as co-captains on this year’s squad.

Other team leaders this fall included sophomore Keinzle Boriskey in blocks (64), and sophomore Brylee Nelson in digs (149).

During the banquet, the coaches also handed out several other awards and honors. These included: defensive MVP (sophomore Sydney Arp); most improved player (Paxton); team spirit award (senior Ella Kopsa & sophomore Scout Ridout); the Wayne Cooley ‘I Can’ award (Paxton); overcoming adversity award (sophomore Layla Pansegrau); and freshman player of the season (Dreya Chamberlin). Paxton, junior Taylor Dolezal, and junior Desiray Popelka were also recognized for earning academic all-conferences status.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT - STC sophomore Maylee Rucker earned all-WaMaC second team honors. Her 579 assists this season places her 5th all-time on the STC single season list.

Looking back on the fall, the players noted several positive things about the season. “I’m really proud of the season we had,” Bro said. “We were a young team and we really worked well together.”

Rucker agreed: “I thought that we all had very good chemistry this year.”

Zmolek appreciated the hard work of the team through the season, saying, “We strived to improve every practice and game.”

Heading into the offseason, and looking ahead to next year, coach Chyma expressed excitement for the future: “The team we have coming back next season is going to be awesome,” Chyma said.