Berwick has experience, new leadership in 2018

The Berwick High School volleyball team may be entering the 2018 season with new leadership, but it returns experience from a last season’s playoff squad.
Berwick will be led this season by first-year coach Megan Fegenbush, who replaces Heather Templet.
She returns seven players from a team that advanced to the Division III playoffs a year ago, falling at Westlake in the first round. Berwick finished the 2017 season with a 16-24 mark.
Fegenbush said the Lady Panthers have seven players who earned many varsity minutes a season ago. She said they are doing a good job replacing last year’s departed seniors.
“They know what they’re supposed to do,” Fegenbush said. “They watched the girls ahead of them and saw how they handled things, and they’re handling it the same way. Those girls we had last year were great role models for the one’s we have this year.”
Among Berwick’s losses from last season were second-team All-District 8-III libero selection Brittany Roberie and honorable mention all-district setter Hannah Henry.
However, the squad does return two honorable mention all-district selections, senior defensive specialist Maci Broussard and senior setter/outside hitter Alyssa Gray.
Fegenbush said that Gray will set again this year and hit from the left side.
In the front row, she said she and assistant coach Abigail Ohlin are experimenting with some moves at the middle hitter position and could move senior Lauren Skinner to the left-side hitter position, putting other players in that front-row middle position.
“We haven’t decided on that yet because Coach Ohlin and I, we talk about it every day, all day, trying to figure out what’s best for everyone,” Fegenbush said.
Other varsity squad members are seniors, Isabella Lodrigue, Abby Sanford and Morgan Toups; juniors, Laney Crouch, Emily Lousteau and Ryleigh Arnold; sophomores, Bronwyn Colbert, Katie Conrad, Lindsie Giroir and Giuliana Spitale; and freshmen Maggie Lemoine and Ashlynn Fitter.
Fegenbush said Berwick expects to run a quicker offense this season.
“With us, it’s going to be defense that makes that offense work, just kind of making everything mesh together,” she said.
Highlights of Berwick’s schedule this season are a match at South Terrebonne, a Division II quarterfinalist a season ago, on Aug. 30; an Oct. 2 contest at Newman, a Division IV quarterfinalist a year ago; and district 8-III contests against defending Division III state champion Vandebilt Catholic, Oct 9. (away) and Oct. 18 (home) and Division III quarterfinalist E.D. White, Oct. 16 (away) and Oct. 24 (home).
Berwick will compete in tournaments at Morgan City High School and Lutcher.
In district, Berwick will face Vandebilt Catholic, E.D. White and Morgan City.
“Having as strong of a district as we have, it makes going into the playoffs a little bit easier, because you’re not going to face anybody better than our district in the playoffs,” Fegenbush said.
Berwick will continue preseason preps with a scrimmage at Patterson Thursday with freshman playing at 4 p.m., junior varsity at 5 p.m. and varsity at 6 p.m. The squad then will participate in the Morgan City High School Jamboree Aug. 23 before opening its season Aug. 27 at Ellender.