With the 2023 season underway, the Oakville girls volleyball team is hoping that a trio of seniors can get the Tigers to recover from their first losing season since 2016.

“I’m pretty excited about the group of girls we have this year,” Oakville head coach Lucas Allen said. “We have three returning seniors and the juniors that we have moved up to varsity are all good players, so this is a good group to be around.”

Senior captain Addie Czuppon returns for the 2023 season after an impressive junior year where she led the Tigers with 42 aces, 639 attacks and 193 kills.

“Addie is more confident and does a great job for us attacking,” Allen said. “Where I see her most improvement this year is her serve and receive game as well as her overall ball control.”

Another senior captain to watch this season is Sami Simokaitis, who is playing her fourth season on the varsity squad. In 2022, Simokaitis led the Tigers at middle hitter with 44 blocks while also racking up 130 kills.

“Sami is the kind of player that gets the most effort out of anyone on the court,” Allen said. “I’m really looking forward to watching her embrace that senior leadership role this season.”

The Tiger’s third captain for 2023 is junior setter Nina Cillo. Last year, Cillo led Oakville with 706 assists while also amassing 155 digs and 32 aces.

“Nina is a very smart setter that knows how to put the ball in position to get us points,” Allen said. “I’m also looking forward to seeing her take on that leadership role for us this year as a setter.”

Senior Maddie Logue returns this season as a libero after making 36 appearances in 2022 as a defensive specialist in which she recorded 35 digs.

“Maddie has gotten a lot more confident in the back row and we are looking to see her as more of a libero this year,” Allen said. “She’s a good, calming presence on the court when the play gets intense.”

The Tigers are at home Tuesday, Sept. 5 against Marquette.