The Lady Bison volleyball teams finish off preseason play and roll into district this week. While the loss of strong seniors has the team struggling a little with getting their groove back, they’re doing their best with daily morning practices and weekly tournaments.
“I think the tournaments have exposed us to an incredibly high competition,” head coach Judith Harris said. “I ultimately think that’s going to help us when we compete in district.”
The season started at the beginning of August, and the girls have been playing nonstop.
“Since two-a-days I feel I’ve improved as a team player,” junior Bradyn Lack said. “Even though the practices get tiring after a while, I really think we’ll thank the coaches later for how much we’ve improved on and off the court.”
During the first week of school, the varsity volleyball team attended an overnight tournament in Bay City. They had games against Boling, Orangefield, Calallan, Van Vleck and Kountze. The girls went in knowing they were playing tough teams, but still were unhappy with the outcome of their games.
“The first day was frustrating,” senior Morgan Sellers said. “We were playing really good teams and we were having trouble picking balls up.”
The first three games on Thursday were losses. It was a hard day, but they had been prepared for this, knowing that the tournament was a way to bond with the team and determine where everyone was progress-wise. At the end of the first day, the team attended a team dinner at Fat Grass.
“Dinner was a good way to finish the day off,” senior Molly Hirsch said. “It definitely lifted our spirits.”
The next day was a day off, and the tournament put together activities that all teams participated in. The girls bowled, went to the movies and had lunch.
“Bowling was super fun,” sophomore Evangeline Arabie said. “I had a really good time at the bowling alley, and I went and watched The Sound of Freedom after I finished a few games. The movie was great.”
The tournament provided free tickets to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.
“I loved the Barbie movie,” senior Nicollette Arabie said. “It was my second time seeing it and I loved all of the colors and the costumes. The ending made me tear up a little.”
After finishing bowling and movies, the girls went back to the hotel to prepare for a beach party that the tournament organized.
“The beach was fun,” senior Alyncia Jackson said. “Mainly we hung out with our own team members. I went underwater a lot because I couldn’t jump over the waves on time.”
The next day, the girls went to Tidehaven High School to participate in bracket play. The first game was against Van Vleck. Throughout both sets of the Van Vleck game, the girls came back from behind, but it wasn’t enough. Van Vleck ultimately won.
Next, the team faced Kountze. They started the first set winning, got behind, came back, but lost in the end. They cut a 10-point lead down to a two-point lead in the second set, but it wasn’t quite enough.
“The outcome of our Saturday games was not at all what any of us wanted,” senior Alexia Dittman said. “We could’ve done much better and we just didn’t. We were all really disappointed in ourselves by the end of this tournament.”
While the outcome of the games was anything but what the girls hoped for, the outcome of the bonding experience was excellent.
“Over this tournament, I learned a lot of new stuff about my fellow teammates, including some of the classmates I’ve known all through school,” senior Cynthia Sanchez said. “It shows you that even when you think you know the girls you’re playing with, there may be a lot that you miss.”
The loss of seniors after last season meant that underclassmen are stepping up to help form the varsity team.
“I feel honored to be on varsity as a freshman,” freshman Zoe Cheek said. “I was a little nervous at first, but once you get used to the pace the game becomes less stressful.”
Even though pre pre-season started a little rough it was a good way for the teams to practice and get ready for district and get a feel for the competition and the intensity of the game.
“I think the level of teams we have been competing against will help us when it’s time for district,” assistant coach Darrel Skelton said. “Since the teams we’ve been playing in the preseason have been better than teams we will hit in district, I think we’re going to do great.”
