CLOSE-KNIT SPIKERS — Senior members of the Fairmont Cardinal volleyball team opening the season by traveling with their teammates to St. James on Thursday night include, from left: Kaitlyn Scott, Maddy Schwieger, Bryn Miller, Natalie Tonne, Sabrina Segar and Madysen Allen. (Photo by Charlie Sorrells)

FAIRMONT — Backpedaling, leaping upward and forward simultaneously, reversing direction and shifting laterally are concepts that prep volleyball players need to master to achieve success.

Unfortunately, second-year Fairmont head coach Kim Breamer and her Cardinal spikers have been put through their paces in a similar fashion off the hardwood court during the past 77 days.

The Minnesota State High School League originally opted on Aug. 4 to move the sport of volleyball to a newly-created ‘fourth season’ that would run from March 21-May15, 2021.

The MSHSL then revived the sport at a special Sept. 21 meeting, with practices set to begin Sept. 28 and the first of 14 duals to start Oct. 8.

The Fairmont school district’s administration and board then combined over a three-week span to opt for distance learning — which nixed all practices and competitions, reversed course back to hybrid educational methods — which was then flipped back to distance learning by the state board of health due to a spike in active COVID-19 cases in the county.

… and finally, officially back to hybrid learning 24 hours ago.

So, it’s no surprise that Breamer, along with her coaching staff and players, made the decision to open the pandemic-modified volleyball schedule on Thursday night in St. James.

“We realize that we’ll be back officially for only two days, but at this point, we just want to play and not miss two more matches of an already shortened season,” said Breamer. “Our girls played in the open gyms all summer long, and they know what we want to run (offensively and defensively). Now, it’s a matter of putting all the pieces together in the right order, and we should be able to accomplish that with five of our main players returning from last season.”

Senior Sabrina Segar returns to put the Cardinals’ 6-2 offensive attack in motion after distributing 207 set assists during the 2019 campaign.

Segar also connected for 13 aces on 226-for-240 serving to complement 128 digs to earn a place on the Sentinel All-Area volleyball lineup and a spot on the all-Big South Conference East Division’s honorable mention team.

Segar and senior playmaker Kaitlyn Scott will share Fairmont’s setting duties, while the senior tandem of Natalie Tonne and Bryn Miller will handle the majority of the red-and-white’s outside hitting efforts. Tonne notched the Cardinals’ No. 1 kill total of 118 last fall, while Miller produced 83 spike-winners near the net.

The 6-foot junior duo of Cassidy Schultz and Brittney Mosloski will supply the squad’s offensive firepower from the middle hitting positions, with Schultz delivering a second-best 97 kills to complement 109 digs during her varsity debut a year ago.

Senior Madysen Allen, who scooped up 151 digs, will serve as the Cardinals’ libero again, while junior Jaya Johnson also will rotate into the lineup as a defensive specialist this season.

Breamer said Maddy Schwieger will bring “versatility” to Fairmont’s frontline attack as the senior can play multiple hitting positions, along with the junior spiking trio of Emily Frank, Vanessa Bliesmer and Mikayla Fitzloff.

Junior utility players Jenna Raney and Riley Henzler will round out the Cardinals’ opening-night lineup at 7:15 p.m. Thursday night in St. James.

“After waiting for two and a half months, I think the girls are ready to get back into the swing of things and put our best effort on the court,” said Breamer.

Fairmont plays its home-opener against Blue Earth Area at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday night at Cardinal Gym.

“I think a big difference from coaching last year to coaching now is that I, along with my staff, know what to expect from our conference opponents this time around,” said Breamer. “We know what they run and who their top players are, and we know how to prepare for each program. Now, we just have to execute our game plan.”

Sally Schmitz will serve as the Cardinals’ varsity assistant, Carrie Rosenberg will handle the B-squad coaching duties, while Hailey Leiding will instruct the C-squad in 2020.