Despite a slow start to the season the Lady Dawgs volley ball team has been practicing to improve for the second rouund of games.
“The season has been good, I’m just ready for second round so we can beat all the teams that beat us first round,” player Kennedy Godsey said.
The coaches are hoping to get the girls to play-offs this year and advance in them. Last year was the first year in 13 years that they did not make it to the playoffs.
“We have a young team without any seniors, but I’m confident we can pull through and make playoffs,” player Keely Penn said.
Beating Anderson at home was a great victory for the team.
“My favorite moment this year was beating Anderson because that is one of our biggest rivals since my coach is best friends with the Anderson coach,” Godsey said.
“It was the best match of the year,” coach Jason Landers said.
He said he enjoyed watching the girls play as well as they could play and really do well.
Even though the team lost to Lake Travis they learned that they could compete with anybody in their district.
“At times this season has been rocky,” Penn said. “Losing to Austin was tough, however we did take Lake Travis to five sets, and swept Anderson in three sets.”
Junior Kellen Dunn and Godsey’s performances have made the highlights of the season so far.
“What motivates me to play volleyball is the girls that are with me everyday in the gym practicing,” Godsey said. “The only experience I have playing volleyball is through playing in school.”
For sophomores and freshman these young players have really grown into their positions, according to the coaching staff. A few younger players who have had stand out performances are freshman Elli Crosley and sophomores Alicia Morales and Shelby Johnson.
“You know volleyball is all about team and you doing your job, so that’s probably the biggest thing is these girls get their job done, and they do what the team expects them to do for the most part, and they do that regularly,” Landers said.
He has really high expectations of his players and tries to hold them to those expectations as best as he can.
As a result he believes that the girls respond, and have been having a great season as a result of that.
“I am pretty demanding and pretty hard,” Landers said. “It’s probably harder than I need to be. We always talk about leaving the gym with our heads held high knowing we gave our best effort.”
There are a couple of rules the volleyball team tries to follow. The first is that they play every point the same regardless of the score and the second is to give effort for every ball.
According to some players, this year the team is getting along really well and holds a strong bond. The squad even goes to a team dinner every week.
With high goals for playoffs, the Lady Dawgs continue to practice early in the mornings and late in the afternoons to prepare for their matches.
Catch the last of the Lady Dawgs season on Oct. 15, Oct. 18, Oct. 22, Oct. 25 and Oct. 29 against Anderson, Austin, Del Valle, McCallum and Westlake.