Former first team all-Shelby County Athletic League volleyball standout Whitney Pleiman, a Russia High graduate, has her sophomore season at Edison State off to an outstanding start.

Edison is 3-0 on the young season, and defensive specialist Pleiman is a big reason why.

She already has 103 digs on the season, led by a phenomenal game in a 3-2 win for the Chargers over Cuyahoga Community College, in which she finished with 62 digs, in the second match of the season.

That followed a 17-dig performance in a 3-0 win over Miami-Hamilton in the season opener. Then on Wednesday night, Pleiman added a team-high 24 digs in a 3-1 win over Clark State of Springfield.

Several other area graduates are playing collegiate volleyball:

Katelyn Sosby, Jackson Center: Sosby is also a member of the Edison State women’s volleyball team and is another defensive specialist for the Chargers.

A freshman, Sosby is also off to a good start to the season, with seven digs against Miami-Hamilton, 16 in the win over Cuyahoga, and 13 more in Wednesday night’s win over Clark State.

Arielle Snider, Sidney: Snider is a freshman on the defending national champion Owens Tech women’s volleyball team, and is seeing plenty of action for the team, which has picked up where it left off last season, with five straight wins to start this campaign.

Snider is a right side hitter, and had seven kills in a 3-2 win over Harper College, and four kills and two solo blocks in a 3-1 win over Rock Valley.

Paige Jones, New Bremen: Jones is back as a sophomore for the University of Michigan women’s volleyball team, which opens its season this weekend.

She is coming off an outstanding freshman season, which saw her being named to the Big Ten all-freshman team and honorable mention on the all-North Region team of the coaches association. She started all 34 contests and posted double-figure kills in 21 of those matches. She led the Wolverines in kills in 11 matches and in digs once.

She still holds the Ohio High School record for kills in a match and kills in a season.

Taylor Doty, New Knoxville: Doty is a member of the Sinclair Community College women’s volleyball team and is a freshman outside hitter. She had a strong performance in a win over Cuyahoga CC, finishing with four kills and 13 digs.

Danielle Barhorst, Minster: Barhorst is also a member of the Sinclair volleyball team and is also a freshman outside hitter. She had three kills in the win over Cuyahoga CC.

Devin Heitkamp, New Bremen: Heitkamp is a 6-foot-1 senior playing middle hitter at the University of Northwest Ohio in Lima, and she is also off to a strong start to the season.

She had 14 kills, three blocks and six digs in a 3-1 win over Martin Methodist of Tennessee, and followed that with 14 kills and five blocks in a 3-1 loss to IU-Kokomo. She then had seven kills in a 3-0 win over Robert Morris and eight kills in a 3-0 loss to Indiana Wesleyan.

• Football

Several area graduates will soon begin their collegiate football seasons:

Isaiah Bowser, Sidney: Bowser is starting his sophomore season at running back for the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten, after exciting the entire Sidney community with his performance last fall in leading the Wildcats to the Big Ten championship game against Ohio State.

He finished his freshman season with 866 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 197 carries. That was the third-most rushing yards in school history for a first-year running back, and he averaged 91.9 yards per game in Big Ten play.

Devan Rogers, Sidney: Another former Sidney standout is playing Division I football in Rogers, who is a redshirt freshman on the football team at the University of Toledo. He is a 6-foot-2, 285-pound offensive tackle.

Ratez Roberts, Sidney: Roberts is also continuing his football career, being a freshman member of the Urbana University squad. He is a 6-3 wide receiver for the Blue Knights.

Josiah Hudgins, Sidney: Hudgins is also continuing his football career, being a freshman member of the Tiffin University squad. He is a 6-0 defensive back for the Dragons.

Sam Puthoff, Fort Loramie: Puthoff is in his sophomore season with the football team at Ashland University.

A 6-2, 259-pound offensive lineman, he played in two games last season as a freshman and is in competition for the starting right guard spot for the Eagles, who open their season Sept. 5.

• Soccer

Thomas Kerrigan, Lehman: Kerrigan is a junior midfielder on the men’s soccer team at Mt. St. Joseph University in Cincinnati.

Kerrigan played in 17 of the team’s 18 games last season and also played in 17 matches as a freshman two years ago.