- April 25, 2024
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WINTER GARDEN After the West Orange volleyball team had won its third game in as many days — including an exciting, televised win in five sets on the road over a talented Merritt Island team — coach Ross Usie acknowledged the possibility his program might have achieved one of the top feats in high-school sports: getting younger and better.
“The organization might not be there just yet, but the skill level is definitely there,” Usie said following the Warriors’ 3-1 defeat of Apopka Sept. 8.
West Orange (4-1) has just two seniors (Cassidy Chorney and Katerina Murray) on its roster this fall to pair with a freshman (Taylor Head) and four sophomores (Torey Baum, Ava Czyewski, Caroline Grant and Erin Walsh). The bulk of the Warriors’ playing rotation, though, is rooted in its junior class and includes large roles for Baum and and Head.
Even without a large reliance on seniors, standout junior Baylor Bumford believes this year’s team may be the best she has played on.
“We’re all really experienced,” Bumford said before praising two of her underclassmen teammates. “Taylor has come in and totally changed our team, and Torey has always been a leader on the team.”
Although it seems odd to suggest that a team that got younger may be more experienced than its predecessors, it may also be accurate: West Orange’s main contributors all play for highly competitive club teams.
For players such as Bumford and Tulane commit Makala Heidelberg, another junior, it is not lost on them that in just two years, they have gone from being the freshmen newcomers on varsity to the elder stateswomen.
“As freshmen, we respected the older players so much and always listened, and they kind of took us under their wing,” Bumford said. “Now we’re kind of doing that with the younger players.”
For Usie, seeing the junior class — which has been instrumental in consecutive historic seasons for the program — continue to mature has been rewarding.
“It’s good to see them grow up in front of your eyes — they just keep getting better and better,” Usie said. “It’s kind of exciting to see what they do next.”
What they do next inevitably will be decided once the playoffs begin. Last year, the Warriors ran into a buzz saw in the regional final in the form of eventual state champions Winter Springs. This year, though, West Orange isn’t ready to surrender the title to anyone just yet, and the team has shown spunk in two five-set matches early in the season — a loss to The First Academy Aug. 30 in the team’s opener and the victory against Merritt Island Sept. 7.
Collectively, the two exciting, down-to-the-wire matches have helped battle-test the team early in the season.
“They know that they have it in them,” Usie said. “Even in the TFA game, even though we lost, we didn’t keep our heads down.”
West Orange defeated Wekiva and Apopka last week, along with Evans Sept. 13, and is atop the district at 3-0.
Still, most of the Warriors’ more exciting matches will come out of district or in showcases. Apopka, the Warriors’ top competition in district, is adjusting to a new coach.
Nevertheless, Usie knows it is important for the team to stay focused in those regular-season district matches to secure the top seed for the district tournament this fall.
“They know that (the district schedule) affects more of our record than the big games we face against out-of-district opponents,” Usie said. “They love and enjoy playing the tough teams.”
Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].
