IHS’ boss extols both experience, eagerness
Speaking via phone Wednesday night, Aug. 13, Jennifer Seibel apologized for being late in making the 7 p.m. call.
She had a perfectly good reason, however; she’d just left an IHS Booster Club meeting, convened in advance of the Fall 2025 grind in which her Volleycats might warrant some bonus backing.
“We put in a great summer; I had a core group of girls who came to almost every open gym, every camp – anything volleyball, they were there. So, the commitment level was definitely there; we had a lot of success … and I’m excited for this season!”
“We went to Sanford,” she continued, referring to a team camp, “beat Sanford and Sargent, and I believe both had their full team there – which was awesome. Our girls, I think, played six or seven matches in one day … and we won the whole tournament!”
And it wasn’t by accident or luck. Having graduated only two varsity regulars from the 2024 roster, Ignacio should not only return a tested junior-class nucleus including setter Kelly Sirios, middle Maliyah Martinez, outside/right-side hitter Lainee Bradley, defensive specialist Lily Quintana and DS/OH/libero Tarah Baker, plus senior middle Juliann Avila – many of whom saw action, or were at least uniformed for IHS’ 2023 CHSAA Class 2A State Championships showing in Denver – but potentially feature some fresh, but reportedly skilled faces wanting just as badly to help the program log a fifth consecutive winning season, and sixth in its last seven.
“My returners are getting pushed every single day to perform; we’ve got a lot of hungry girls in that gym fighting for those varsity spots,” said Seibel, 36-18 overall going into her third season as head coach. “None of my girls are complacent; honestly, it’s a dogfight (to make) this varsity. I’m not entirely sure where everyone’s quite ended up!”
Now-sophomores Amira Montoya, Aubriella Herrera and Karalina Guffey also earned varsity reps last year and will likely be in the mix again this season.
“We’ve got some transfer students and new students coming out,” Seibel continued, “so we’re going to be adding to our roster this year, and those athletes have just come in and added a lot of presence on the court. So, I’m really excited to see the depth of our team; we are much more well-rounded and I’m excited to see how far we can go this year.”
Best amongst the San Juan Basin League’s 2A-level teams last fall, and second-best amongst all the dual-classification circuit’s crews, Ignacio (10-2 SJBL, 7-1 2A SJBL in ’24) finished 15-10 overall – after losing to Simla in the SHS-hosted Region I finale – and should again match up well with league-title contenders Dove Creek (24-3 overall in ’24; 11-0 SJBL, 6-0 1A SJBL), Mancos (17-8; 9-3 SJBL, 6-2 2A SJBL) and Telluride (14-11; 8-4 SJBL, 5-3 2A SJBL).
“Those teams did graduate girls, but as they graduate girls their upcoming girls step in, fill those shoes and grow in skill as well. So every year we don’t overlook anybody; we’re hungry and we’re on our toes for every single team we come up against,” Seibel said. “Our league, I think any team on any given day is going to be competitive, so I teach my girls to stay humble and stay hungry all the time; the moment you think you’ve got it is when you get upset.”
Having faced their last preseason foes Saturday, Aug. 16, at 3A Pagosa Springs’ annual, fast-paced Pirate 4 Corners Scrimmages, the Volleycats’ first official match of ’25 is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 26, at home against Montezuma-Cortez (7-16, 1-7 3A Intermountain in ’24), with a fierce follow-up versus Del Norte (22-4, 6-0 2A Southern Peaks) on the 28th. SJBL play then gets underway Tuesday, Sept. 2, at MHS – a match which could definitely indicate both teams’ league-title readiness – and Seibel’s squad will then prepare quickly to travel to Lakewood for the 9/6 Denver Christian Invitational.
Where they are guaranteed, at present, to face what will likely be their toughest opponent yet.
“Ultimately, if our goal is to make it to State, we’ve got to be prepared to get into uncomfortable situations to be able to move through them as a team. So, I’m stoked to play Sedgwick County,” Seibel said, noting that IHS and Julesburg-based SedgCo (2024 Class 2A State Champion; 25-4 overall, 7-1 2A/1A Lower Platte) are on the same side of the tourney bracket. “They have an amazing program; I’ll love to see how our girls handle that type of pressure and how we’ll fare against them.”
“Like, when we’re pushed beyond our limits, get out of our comfort zone … that’s when we’ll grow mentally and physically as a team. We’ve been playing all summer against 4A and 3A, plus 2A schools as well, so we do not back down from bigger schools; we just fight back.”