Tension was high as the volleyball team faced Southside, last year’s State Champions, on Sept. 4. Winning this game would be evidence of all the hard work the team had put in since last season, of how far they had come, and how bad they wanted to be able to call themselves State Champions.
So, when they did defeat the Rebels in their first conference game of the season, it was a cause for celebration.
“It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced,” said senior Tiffani Ray. “Everyone was just on top of their game, it was the best we’ve ever played together and we were all just pumped up for that game and we did our job, we got it done.”
Southside has always been a tough competitor for volleyball, and beating them was a huge accomplishment according to the players.
“It was really exciting,” said senior Kimberly Huff. “It was the first time we’ve beat Southside in, I think, six years, and we just played really well as a team.”
From this first game it was evident that this season would be one to remember. Last year volleyball didn’t win five games all season, but this year they have already exceeded that.
Several changes have started a chain reaction in volleyball that are expected to carry over throughout the season. The new coach is responsible for some of these changes. Every new coach brings something new to a team, and Coach Shyrah Schisler has introduced a new system and way of thinking.
“Discipline is the most important thing. Teams that are not disciplined do not succeed,” said Schisler.
Schisler’s more disciplinary approach has been evident to the players throughout the season, and in their opinion, seems to be working.
“She’s very disciplinary. She really pushes us to do our best, and she made us very mentally tough. We all had the talent before, but she just made us that much better, her and Coach Luigs,” said Ray.
Schisler also believes that it is important to take pride in hard work, and that through working so hard this year, the team has developed qualities such as consistency, tenacity, and personal self-esteem that have helped win more games.
“She’s conditioned us a lot and that definitely helped us during the Southside game. One of the big things she has helped us with is off the court stuff, like attitudes and discipline, and being a real team and being a teammate,” said Huff.
The saying is ‘there is no “I” in team’, but each teammate is responsible for bettering themselves for the benefit of the team, and that is the case with this team.
“I’ve worked a lot harder and I’ve had to become a leader to help the team,” said Ray.
Ray stepping up as a leader has also helped other players to follow suit and improve both their game, and their attitudes.
“I think that I’ve really learned how to listen to my coaches when they tell me to fix something, and interpret that in the game,” said Huff. “I think Tiffani is a really good leader for our team, especially with such a young team. She has really stepped up.”
Ray and Huff believe that with this much improvement, winning State this year seems like a possibility, and is definitely the goal.
“I think we have the ability to, we just all have to do our part when we need to,” said Huff.