Soldotna senior Shaylynn Zener signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay, in a ceremony Monday morning at Soldotna High School.
Zener’s signing marks another big step in a season of improvement for the libero-turned-outside hitter. SoHi head coach Sheila Kupferschmid said
“I saw tremendous growth personally and athletically from her junior to senior year,” Kupferschmid said. “She was a different player and person her senior year. She took a leadership role and ran with it, and her time and effort put in off the court just multiplied this year.”
Zener was a consistent presence on SoHi’s back line as a libero, but was moved up front as a hitter her senior year as Kupferschmid had to make some changes to shake up the season.
“It was one of the best things I did,” Kupferschmid said.
Zener was named a team captain for the Stars and ultimately earned first-team All-Conference and All-State last fall. Zener was also named a member of the Team Alaska volleyball squad that will compete at the Arctic Winter Games in Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada this March.
“For a 5-foot-3 or 5-4 player to sign, that tells you what she can do skill-wise with the ball,” Kupferschmid said.
Zener started her prep career at Soldotna on the JV team before she began to get varsity minutes as a sophomore. At the state tournament last fall as a senior, Zener poured in 16 service points in her final game.
Zener will be studying Criminal Justice at Southwestern Oregon.
Barton to play hockey at Assumption College
Kenai’s Benjamin Barton has been named to the Assumption College hockey team in Worcester, Massachusetts, a Division II school.
In a press release, associate head coach Michael Looney said the addition of Barton is expected to be a boon for a team looking to defend its Northeast 10 championship, the first in program history.
“Though the new landscape of our conference schedule is challenging, we have a strong group of student athletes who work hard both in the classroom and on the ice,” Looney said. “We have a large number of returning players who have proved to be formidable leaders for the new players.”
Throught Jan. 30, Assumption was 11-8-2 overall.
Assumption College is a Catholic liberal arts institution that was founed in 1904.
