Central Penn volleyball season is set
Coach and players look
to spike a great one
By Alana Peiffer
Knightly News Reporter
The Lady Knights will serve up their first volleyball season in recent years in late August.
Central Penn students have shown an interest in establishing a volleyball team for several years, with starts and stalls, but this year, a team of 12 players has been rostered with a lot of work by coaches to recruit students to build a team from the court up.
Following a coaching transition, the program struggled to find the leadership needed to rebuild the roster and to create the level of buy-in necessary for long-term success. There was also an attempt to restart the program around the time of COVID-19, and like many athletic programs across the country, the cancellation and disruption of the 2020-21 seasons made it difficult to gain momentum and sustain participation.
“With the right leadership, renewed energy, and a dedicated group of student-athletes, we are excited about the opportunity to successfully bring volleyball back to Central Penn and build a program that can thrive for years to come,” Kasey Hicks, Central Penn athletic director, said.
Coaches knew they wanted to keep a family-like environment, but they wanted the team to be able to grow into an elite class to start the year strong. Nine first-year students are coming in this summer who are more motivated than ever, and coach Jessica Dunbar is excited. The Knights’ home court will be at Central Dauphin East Middle School.
Last fall, Dunbar discussed with The Knightly News her goals in shaping this team into a family.
“We are building this team into a family and I want these girls to trust each other and to know that I’ll always have their backs.” Dunbar said. “I hold myself to high standards, and that’s going to rub off on them.”
Dunbar began her college career playing volleyball at Millersville University but transferred to Penn State York, where she would be named PSUAC (Penn State University Athletic Conference) Player of the Year three times and earn two All-American honors from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).
Dunbar said she wants to use her passion to drive this new team.
She added that she’s “looking to make history with this group of girls, and that starts now. The team is looking forward to our ESAC (Eastern States Athletic Conference) championship match at the end of October, and our USCAA nationals in November.”
The 12 players, all with notable talent, come from an array of areas. Some of them are Andy Bevanar (YAIAA All-Star Second & PIAA District 3 team), from Bermudian Springs; Lexi Bixler, from Big Springs; and McKenna Jones, from West Perry. These women bring talent, and the college community is excited to watch them and the rest of the team succeed.
The YAIAA is the York-Adams (counties) Interscholastic Athletic Association, and the PIAA is the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.
“Coach Dunbar and her staff will organize and oversee all of the preseason workouts, training and athlete development programming, leading into the season to give the girls the best opportunity they can have,” Hicks said.
The team is scheduled to play a 17-game schedule.
The season will begin with a scrimmage at York College on Aug. 26, 6 p.m. The season’s first game, a trimatch with HACC, will be at Penn State York at noon on Aug. 29.
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Edited by media-club co-adviser and blog editor Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.
