The Bishop Ireton Lady Cardinal Volleyball team currently weighs-in with a WCAC record of 4-7 and an overall record of 6-10. The Cardinals are coached by Kathy Gutmann (first-season). She is assisted by Pat Delaney (also first-season).

"Everyone thought that this was going to be a rebuilding year here at Ireton, but I look at it as a retooling year here at Ireton," said Gutmann.

The Cardinals have had three different head coaches in the past three seasons.

"We have the players. They just have to go out and believe that they can do it and then execute," said Gutmann.

On the season, Ireton has defeated WCAC foes McNamara (in five games), Carroll (in four games), Holy Cross (in three games) and St. Mary's Ryken (in three games). The Lady Cardinals have also defeated Episcopal (in five games) and Wakefield (in three games).

Ireton is led by senior co-captains Kara Bedford and Liz Greksouk. Bedford is four-year varsity and is arguably one of the top players in Cardinal history.

The senior plays "setter" - somewhat akin to the teams quarterback.

"Our team’s defense and passing skills have gotten better [as the season has gone on]," said Bedford. "The job as a captain is to keep everyone out there on the court motivated and to keep everyones spirits up."

Greksouk anchors the defense for the Cardinals. "We lost a lot of players from last season," she said. "We don't have a lot of heighth on this team, but we have all been learning how to play together with one another."

A strong junior class includes Casey Bedford, Ali Cleaves, Jessie Corpancho, Chrissy Einerson, Eva Etzel, Sara Hart and Nicole Thurman.

Two sophomores, Taylor Bedford and Nadia Cathan, and one freshman, Theresa Dalmut, round out the squad.

"Offensively, I want a strong pass that will enable our setter – Kara Bedford - to run the offense to its full potential; defensively, I want to line up with the hitters and to transition smoothly to offense "off of the dig," said Gutmann.

Ireton is scheduled to host St. Mary's Ryken Oct. 12 (too late for this edition), and will visit O'Connell Oct. 14 and host McNamara Oct. 17.

"We are improving in our passing statistics and our players are working on alternate means of attack. The girls enjoy playing together and they feel that they can compete with the other teams in the conference. [Come tournament time] Ireton will not be a team to overlook," said coach Gutmann.