By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

During preseason practice, Hays High School volleyball coach Bob Schmitz noticed senior libero Emily Younger was "really hesitant" in the back row. Schmitz reminded Younger, one of two returning all-Western Athletic Conference players, of his motto.

"(She was) really worried about making mistakes and I just try and stress that, don't ever be sorry for a mistake that you make, just use it as another chance to get better," Schmitz said. "There is nothing you can do about the mistakes. They happen. There is nobody that will ever play a perfect game of volleyball."

Younger improved as the preseason progressed.

In the Indians' season-opening Hays High Quadrabgular Tuesday, Younger was rock solid and labeled by Schmitz "an unsung hero."

"She has really started showing a lot of confidence," Schmitz said.

Younger led several rallies as the server, passed well out of serve-receive, set up the offense for attacks and kills and manned the back row effectively on defense.

The Indians won all three matches at the HHS gym. Hays High defeated Otis-Bison, 25-11, 25-12, beat La Crosse, 25-8, 25-17, and topped Larned 25-10, 25-17, to start 3-0 for the first time since 2005.

"It all starts in the back row," Schmitz said.

Younger was one of several returning starters on last season's 5-27 team under Gary Anderson, who resigned after one season and Schmitz took over as head coach after being an assistant. Younger earned all-honorable WAC honors as the libero, while junior outside hitter Ashli Dryden earned first team, the only two HHS players who earned a postseason honor.

Younger, though, didn't want to go through a similar fall in her senior season.

"We knew that we didn't want to have a season like last year and that meant a lot to us," she said.

Schmitz instituted a positive culture and improved team chemistry. He also changed Younger's passing technique, a modification that helped Tuesday.

"It was just angles basically and you tried to stay put," Younger said.

Schmitz, who focuses on fundamentals, asked Younger to shuffle when passing, a move that Younger has said "worked a lot better."

Younger will shuffle either forward, backward, left or right. The feet won't cross over and Younger will try to hit the ball out in front off her forearms.

"Schmitz just said whatever you are comfortable with, stick with it this year and that is what we have been doing this year," Younger said. "Coaches have been working with me about shuffling through and no matter what, just shuffling and that has helped tremendously."

The shuffling also keeps the player steady when hitting.

"It is just we are forcing them to follow through on the ball, which is making them hold their platform a little bit longer," Schmitz said. "They are having to think about that."

The increased confidence and change produced a solid day from Younger. As the libero, Younger delivered multiple digs every match and had the majority of first contact on serve-receive -- an area of concern for Hays High in 2007.

"Last year, serve-receive scared us to death," senior setter Kelsey Hedlund said. "We were terrible, but this year we are not as scared anymore. We are up there to have fun."

It especially helped against Larned. In the HHS victory, Larned committed 10 serve-receive errors versus two for Hays High, including eight in the first set.

Younger's passes set up several kills, including a 10-0 run against Larned in Game 2. She had three passes to senior setter Liz Shelton in a nine-point burst that yielded kills, including two of Dryden's quad-high 20.

"We have to get that first pass," Schmitz said. "While Ashli did a great job tonight on the kill, we had to have somebody in our back row first to get it up to our setter and get it to Ashli."

Younger delivered several dominating serving stretches, including a 6-0 run in Game 1 versus La Crosse. She had three aces in that stretch and eventually forced the Leopards to call a timeout.

In Game 1 versus Larned, Younger keyed an 8-0 charge. She continually served to the middle part of the court and Larned couldn't receive it. Larned committed five serve-receive errors on Younger's serve, including three in a row.

"If they tried to move up, I would kind of yo-yo it back and forth and take it one step at a time," Younger said. "Because if you start thinking about, 'I am doing well', the next serve you are just going to mess up, so my team was back there, backing it up, telling me where the open spot was."

In the final set versus Otis-Bison, Younger served out a 4-0 run that forced the Cougars to call a timeout and put the set effectively out of reach at 17-10. A few minutes later, the Indians won the game and match, capping off an impressive first day for their confident libero.