Game Time!
By Donnie A. Lucas
With just short of 40 players showing up for practices on Monday, Lady Lion volleyball coach M.J. Reneau is pleased with the response and excited about the upcoming season.
The volleyball teams are finishing up two-a-day workouts today and will start scrimmaging other teams on Friday.
Albany is hosting a three-way scrimmage starting at 11:00 a.m. Friday at the competition that includes Lingleville and Benjamin. The Lady Lions will play Lingleville at 11:00 a.m., followed by a bout against Benjamin at 1:00 p.m.
On Saturday, all three local teams will play in Breckenridge
The varsity will scrimmage Mineral Wells at 12:00 noon, followed by a 1:00 p.m. bout against Paradise. Both games will be in the Breckenridge main gym.
The JV I will face Mineral Wells JV at 11:00 in the auxiliary gym, followed by the JV II playing Breckenridge’s freshmen at 12:00 p.m. The JV II will play Breckenridge freshmen at 2:00 p.m. followed by a JV I round against Breckenridge at 3:00 p.m.
“The girls came in Monday and worked hard,” Reneau said. “They are already talking about our tournament next week.”
The Lady Lions will host the Albany Summer Slam on Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 12-14. Pool games are set for Thursday, followed by JV games on Friday. The varsity bracket games will be played Saturday.
“We are just really glad we get to have tournaments this year,” the coach said. “Tournaments provide a lot of experience in a short time frame and allow us to see different rotations and line-ups.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions last year, tournaments were not allowed by the University Interscholastic League.
Reneau said that she has seven seniors this season, including four returning from varsity last year.
“The seniors are doing a great job of teaching the younger ones how to do things, which really helps,” she said. “They are providing the leadership and support for the younger players. The older team members know how we do things and what is expected.”
In addition to the seven seniors, there are six juniors, 12 sophomores, and 11 freshmen, plus two managers.
“We have really good numbers this season,” she said. “I’m not sure yet how many there will be on each team, but we have a lot to work with.”
All three teams will have both group and individual pictures taken on Thursday (today) at 5:00 p.m. at the gym.
The Lady Lions advanced to the state semifinal round last year, which was just the second time they made the state tournament in program history.
“Getting back to the state tournament is a real goal of the girls this season,” she said. “We have had several girls who had a taste of it last year, and they are determined to get there again.”
