Last year the Volleyball team was beaten by Lowell in the district semis who they had beaten a week before. That loss stills looms in the minds of the all-senior starting lineup. Senior Captain Mary Westover believes that the terrible loss suffered at the hands of the Red Arrows will fuel their seniors.

“We played them in the semis for districts and we just didn’t show up on the court,” Westover said. “We played terribly and we got hammered by them. It was not a great way to end the season.”

The Lady Ranger seniors are a very key component to the season. Westover and fellow  captain, Kristin Huffman, believes that the leadership from the upperclassmen is one of the team’s greatest strengths.

“Our strengths definitely include our all senior starting lineup and a very strong line of hitters,” said Huffman.

         Coach Lauren Hanson also believes that one of their strengths are the teams leadership and she believes that they will reach their goals of winning conference, winning a Saturday tournament, going further in post season than they did last season, and playing their game.

“I expect our seniors to do a great job of leading the team on and off the court,” said Hanson. “I believe that this team has the ability to reach all of the goals that we have set for ourselves, as long as we are willing to put in the hard work and stayed focused and disciplined.”

The only weaknesses that the captains and coach sees are their lack of communication on the court. However, Hanson believes that communication is worked on by every volleyball team.

“This is an area of focus for most volleyball teams, every season,” said Hanson. “Communication on the floor is something that constantly needs to be worked at, especially in the moments where the team may not be playing the way they want to be playing. Luckily, this is something that requires no volleyball skill. The girls just need to talk, which I know they are all capable of. Communication helps bring energy to the floor and reminds teammates that they are all working towards the same goal.”

Westover also believes this but thinks they can improve at this. She also looks forward to the student section which she believes will give the team even more energy.

“Our starting lineup is all seniors right now so we expect a good student section from the seniors.” said Westover. “The first week of school is big for us because of battle of the hills at FHE on sept 8, at 4:30pm. And our first conference game is sept 10 at GRC at 7pm.  However, our first home game is sept 22 against Lowell at 7pm.”