MOOSEHEART, IL, Sept. 21 - Improvement has been the name of the game so far this season for Mooseheart's volleyball team. And while the Ramblers do have a victory to their credit, they'd like to make victory a byword to their season at some point soon.

The Ramblers are 1-4 through the early portions of their season, and enter the heart of their Northeastern Athletic Conference schedule beginning with a Tuesday, Sept. 22 home match with Alden-Hebron. Varsity tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

"I've seen so much improvement already," Mooseheart coach Kristin Shuman said. "It's only been five weeks. But they've come so far in those five weeks."

The improvement is literally across the board as the youthful Ramblers have gelled into a unit. Mooseheart has just two seniors on its varsity roster.

"Our passing has improved," Shuman said. "Our hits, our setting, our serves - everything is just getting to where I wanted it to be."

The lack of club volleyball experience does hurt Mooseheart's team in comparison with some of its opponents, especially as this year's squad hasn't had much varsity court time together.

"It's always tough," Shuman said. "We don't get the opportunities to do summer camps or things like that. But these girls come every day. They're here on time and they put in a ton of work. I couldn't ask for anything more. For me, it's not always their skills. It's their commitment to the team, and the effort they put forth, that matter for me."

With only six players on court in a confined space, that need to be able to work together is magnified. Shuman said the team's efforts are paying off.

"We switched some people into different positions this year and they have just stepped up," Shuman said. "They're seeming like a close-knit family."

Lacking true height in any player other than sophomore Arranda Stuart, the Ramblers have had to find creative ways to hit and also to set their defensive block.

"They do what they can, especially when you're coming up against girls on the other side of the net who are 6-1 or 6-2 and you're trying to block them," Shuman said. "They're learning to hit around them. They're using their lack of height to their advantage. The bigger girls are thinking they can just take over. And our shorter girls are saying 'no, I can still hit around you and I can still jump.'"

Mooseheart tried different options at the setter position before settling on junior Katie Stryker. The point guard on the Ramblers girls basketball team, Stryker's move from being a hitter took some adjustment but is now working smoothly.

"I know she misses hitting," Shuman said. "But we really like her hands and how she sets the ball. That's what we're going with and it's worked really nice for us. Setting takes years and years to get that level that you really want. But as a first year setter, she's doing really well."

Participation has been a key in recent years for Mooseheart's girls sports programs. The basketball team has typically had 30 or more girls -- of a total female high school population of 50-55 -- on the roster.

This year, the volleyball team has a similar turnout, with 31 girls in uniform. Of these, 21 are junior-varsity players.

"I see awesome potential for them and I see them helping us when varsity roster spots open up as our girls graduate," Shuman said. "It's hard to get them all playing time. If they come and put their heart into it, they're going to get playing time."

That spirit of participation and effort cut to the core of Mooseheart's ethic, and Shuman said that no matter what happens the rest of the season, the lessons learned are good ones.

"It shows them what teamwork is," Shuman said. "As they grow up, graduate and leave here, they know how to work together, compromise on certain things and help build each other up to achieve the same goal."