Klink ascends ladder to lead CHS volleyball

CHENEY — Following the departure of a bench full of seniors there will be many new faces in the Cheney High School volleyball program in 2023.

The Blackhawks also welcome a new head coach, but someone who is still quite familiar to those in the program.

After several seasons leading the team, Heather Zorrozua stepped away to become Cheney Middle School’s vice principal and athletics director. She handed the playbook down the bench to former assistant and volleyball veteran Shelly Klink.

That means little should change for the returning players who come from a squad which improved to sixth at 4-5 in Greater Spokane League, 11-8 overall and had three playoff games. It was a significant improvement from Cheney’s first GSL season in 2021 when the Blackhawks finished ninth in the league at 1-8 and 3-13 overall.

Volleyball has been very much in Klink’s sights for many years. She grew up in Wilbur but graduated from Selkirk High in Ione, Wash. when her parents moved. She played high school ball at both schools and then played in Europe.

Klink went on to attend Eastern Washington University and while doing so coached volleyball at Sprague-Harrington and Liberty high schools.

Now a 30-year Cheney resident, she returns to head coaching where Klink looks forward to fine-tuning “A great group of athletes coming up,” she said.

In previous roles as both C-Squad and JV coach, Klink has worked with many of the players who will be part of her team this season.

With 11 seniors moving on, there are many big shoes to fill.

“We have to two seniors that played on varsity last year as juniors,” she said, referencing Haleigh Ghering, a setter and Joy Assonken outside hitter. Ghering was an All-GSL honorable mention selection in 2022.

“We’ll have two new middles, a new libero this year,” Klink said. “So other than Haleigh and Joy they’re all going to be new faces at the varsity level.”

An off-season program where players participated in both open gym and summer league helped in the transition.

The biggest hurdle, Klink said is just getting them as much court time as possible so they can get in sync with each other.

Because timing is very critical in volleyball, according to Klink.

“Every setter sets the ball a little bit different, every hitter has a different speed in which they approach the ball,” Klink explained.

However, a majority of the team have played together for a long time. “I think that they are gonna’ step up and accept the challenge; I think we’ll be competitive.”

Klink’s excited about what lies beyond 2023, too.

“Along with our varsity and JV we have a great group of underclassmen that’s coming up,” she said. “That also adds a layer of excitement to the program.”