Boyne City's Hissong embraces change with her 'all gas, no brakes' mentality
· Yahoo Sports
BOYNE CITY — Ava Hissong has picked up a pretty good lesson on embracing change this season.
Visit sports24.club for more information.
Before the volleyball season began, Hissong was a right side hitter, still working on finding her role in the Boyne City volleyball lineup as a senior.
Then change came, in more ways than one.
New coaches took over the Rambler program, led by head coach Shannon Flippin. Then came a positon change for Hissong, a move to outside hitter.
Now, Hissong is thriving all around the Boyne City lineup as a key piece each and every night, including Tuesday, Sept. 29 when Boyne took down Harbor Springs in a three-set sweep.
“Obviously having new coaches this year has really been a change, but it’s honestly been a change for the better,” Hissong said. “They’re awesome, have a lot of great experience and I’m super excited to be working with them. All my coaches have really pushed me to do my best.”
Flippin, who came to Boyne City after coaching at North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, liked Hissong’s passing ability on the outside, which has been a big asset this season.
“Ava showed very early that she was adapting to the passing part of it,” Flippin said. “She’s just a fierce competitor. The kid is like all gas, no brakes from the first whistle.”
That’s not the only part of Hissong’s game that’s adapting.
While she’s had a strong serve over her career and credits work with her Avalanche travel team over the summer months, Hissong is even willing to try new things at the service line.
No better example came Tuesday night when the Ramblers began the third set, looking for a sweep.
Hissong was first to the service line and led Boyne to a 12-0 start, which included multiple aces.
“That was awesome,” Hissong said of the run. “My coach asked me to serve short and I normally don’t. I’ve just been used to serving deep, but he asked me and I said, ‘I don’t know if I can do it.’ I did it, got an ace and then kept going.”
Flippin knows she’s not likely to shy away next time now.
“Maybe now it’s a new tool in her tool box and I won’t tease her anymore about it,” he said with a laugh.
That’s exactly the kind of coaching Hissong has been thankful for this season.
“I’m really happy I did and I just love how he pushes me to do things I’m not comfortable with so that I can be comfortable with them,” she added.
Hissong finished the night with six aces in all, while coming off a strong match last week against Elk Rapids, the No. 5 ranked team in Division 3. The Ramblers lost the match in five, though Hissong turned in 17 digs and 12 kills along the way.
It highlighted both her defensive ability and growing confidence in the new positon.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot more confident on the outside,” she said. “Obviously my setter, Lily (Payton), she’s awesome. I’ve been working really hard on my footwork and getting behind the ball if the ball is off. I’m just working hard at everything, making sure I’m getting better every day.”
For the first time in a handful of years, Boyne City is back down in Division 3 for the postseason, back with the likes of Charlevoix, Inland Lakes and other familiar foes.
While there’s still some season left to build and adapt to whatever comes, Hissong lights up thinking about what’s ahead.
“I’m excited to see what the rest of this season brings,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard and I feel like it’s paying off.”
One thing she won’t embrace, however, is looking too far beyond the current task at hand.
“Right now we’re just looking at one game at a time,” Hissong said, not taking the bait. “We’re hoping to look good in districts, but we’ll see. We’re just focused on the next game for now.”
Reach Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at [email protected] and follow him on X @DrewKochanny and Instagram @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Boyne City's Hissong embraces change with her 'all gas, no brakes' mentality