Lady Eagles Volleyball to Face Lady Rockets
Junior Kayelee Adams tips the ball as senior Aaryn Scires, freshman Jennifer Pina, junior Rebecca Dunlap, and senior Ashlyn Partain anticipate the play. Photo by Jashaughn Hatcher.
August 28, 2018
Football isn’t the only excitement on Friday nights, and the Lady Eagles are proving it.
The Lady Eagles will face the Robinson Lady Rockets Friday in the Athens gymnasium.
The Tuesday night game between the two resulted in 25-19, 25-20, and 25-19 for each round, respectively.
“I think we are as prepared as we are going to be at this part of the season,” head coach Dennis Johnson said. “We have played a lot of games in the last three weeks by participating in three tournaments so far. All of those games in a short period of time really help you prepare for this part of the season before district play begins.”
The team has taken on a much younger team member this year..
“I feel very honored being able to be apart of the team,” freshman Jennifer Pina said. “At the same time I feel obligated to limit my mistakes. I love being a part of this team because they push me to be the best player I can be.”
With distinct age differences, the team has also worked on bonding.
“One of the strengths of this team is chemistry,” Johnson said. “The amazing part about that is having nine new players to the team this year and the fact that they have come together as a team so quickly. Even though there are new players this year, they have all been playing the same system since they were in junior high so most of the time in practice is used to add new concepts instead of starting over with the basic stuff.”
To some players, the team’s victory against Waco University shows the potential they hold for future games like the upcoming game against Robinson.
“Tuesday night was not our best,” junior Braden Bossier said “but we still pulled it off, which shows. I think we just needed more energy and to be more in the game. Many of us were kind of ‘out of it’, if one would say.”
Other games, like the Robinson Tournament later last week, seem to have made the team more comfortable for this season.
“I’m really excited for what’s to come for this team,” Bossier said. “There’s so many fresh players who have already improved so much.”
