Experience is something that Freedom’s volleyball team carries into this season and it’s the hope of head coach John Yanek that this year’s group can make his 30th season in coaching memorable.

The Patriots finished last season with a 9-11 record, but with a group of veterans back, Yanek is confident in the abilities of this group.

“We have all of our returning starters back, so we are looking for big things this season,” said Yanek, who needs 12 wins to reach 400 career victories. “We only have a few players that are in serve receive, so we should be strong at that skill. The players are focused and are working hard at practices. We need to be consistent to be successful. We need to get over the hump of not defeating the top tier teams. Once that occurs, I believe the sky’s the limit.”

Back for the Pates this season are Nilansh Gupta (Jr., OH), Jason Ziobro (Sr., OH), Austin Hoffert (Sr., MB), Brayden Erker (Jr., MB), Eric Chen (Sr., S), Zach Franges (Jr., S), Dillon Fleckenstein (Jr., OPP) and Krish Patel (Jr., L).

Jack Nueffer (Sr., OH/OPP) also figures to play an integral role this season.

“Nilansh Gupta and Austin Hoffert should lead the way with kills,” Yanek said. “Our defense should be strong with Krish Patel at libero. We want to beat some of the top teams in the conference and qualify for the league and district tournaments.”