Any team losing a pair of all-league first team players will have to rebuild a bit.

But Sequim coach Jennie Webber Heilman likes her chances this fall, even if she won’t see her league MVP and longtime setter on the court.

“It would be better for us to be balanced, if we could have three or four kids hitting the ball,” Webber Heilman says.

The defending Olympic League champion Wolves seek their third state berth in four seasons this fall, and they’ll have plenty of experience on their side with returnees Alexas Besand and Hannah Hudson, two all-league second tamers, and all-league honorable mention Emma LeBlanc.

Also back are veterans Caitlin Stofferahn, Emily Wallner and Kate Harker, each of whom saw court time in Sequim’s run to the state tourney in 2012.

Bolstering Sequim’s lineup is junior transfer Alyse Armstrong, a strong, left-handed player who can handle multiple positions.

Sequim saw the graduation of hard-hitting Haleigh Harrison and setter counterpart Taylor Balkan in June.

Harker injured her ankle at the state tourney and needed about six months to recover, Webber Heilman says.

The Sequim coach says she expects good things from Wallner, a three-year starter, and Hudson, a libero (defensive specialist) who can also hit from the outside.

“We want to try to speed things up a bit (this year),” Webber Heilman says.

Six teams from the Olympic League qualify for the league tourney, with five advancing to districts and five from districts go on to state.

Webber Heilman says Sequim has a great shot to take the league crown, with Klahowya and Olympic competing for top spots.

“If we get it together, we could win league,” she says.

Sequim saw 41 athletes try out on the first day and will have a varsity, junior varsity and C-team to take on other Olympic League clubs this fall.

Sequim finished 19-3 overall in 2012, with two of those three losses coming at state.

Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.