Catie Hanser and Kelsie Ray know only one way to play their position. When given the set, the Billings Central outside hitters smack the ball hard, and then given the chance again, they hit it harder.

Off-speed stuff just isn't in their DNA.

Middle hitter Lindsey Sebastian has a different approach. She's not quite as forceful as her teammates, but she's just as lethal.

Combined, the senior trio averages 10.4 kills per game and they are a big reason the Rams have reached the 20-win plateau, one of the best seasons at the school since the championship years of 1987-88.

"The balance is just amazing," fourth-year Central coach Liz Hanser said of her team's offense. "It's such fun to be a part of. These girls have worked so hard and for so long at it … they've done the fall, they've done the spring, they've done the summer. They've worked very hard for it, and that is showing."

At 5-foot-8, Catie Hanser is a bundle of explosive energy. Her lack of height is supplemented by two things: a 29-inch vertical jump, and an unfaltering arm swing. She averages 4.3 kills per game, which ranks her second in the league, and she has an attack efficiency of .351. She also averages 4.1 digs per game, and has not missed a one of her 80 serves this season.

"I really struggle tipping, and I have no idea why," Catie Hanser said, trying to explain why she likes to swing away all the time. "I'm very aggressive. I've always played that way."

Ray stands an inch taller than Hanser. Again, not an intimidating presence for a front-row player, except for the fact she swings at the ball with abandon, which helps explain her lower attack efficiency (.251). But she still nets 2.7 kills per game (as well as 3.4 digs).

"That's just my mentality," Ray said. "I just like hitting hard most of the time. It pumps me up. If you're pumped up, your team gets pumped up."

Sebastian has the height of the three, but she uses her 5-foot-11 frame in a more cerebral manner. While Hanser and Ray are content to hit through a block, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to hit around one. While shots from Hanser and Ray often go pounding into the floor, Sebastian tends to gently tip the ball where ever she can spot an opening. Her attack efficiency is .383, and she averages 3.4 kills per game along with 0.9 blocks.

"I try to do the power stuff," Sebastian said with a chuckle, "but I find placing it works out better for me. Usually the ones I hit hard are the ones that get digged."

Sophomore Katie Cummins is in her first season as the fulltime setter for the Rams (20-3), who play their first match in the Eastern A Divisional today at the Central gym after receiving a first-round bye, along with Miles City. Having all those weapons at her disposal makes her job that much easier, she said.

"They're all good hitters and they can get in front of the ball, even if I can't put it in the right spot all the time," said Cummins, who is the only setter in the league to average double-digits in assists. "They don't treat me like I'm an underclassman. They don't boss me around, they don't do that kind of stuff. It doesn't even seem like I'm younger. I listen to what they have to say and they listen to what I have to say and we all just mesh real well together."