The Red Level Lady Tigers’ volleyball squad looks to be competitive under first year head coach Dawn Kelley.

 

“Our main goal this year is to be competitive,” Kelley said. “We’ve learned a lot over the summer, and hope to carry that into the season.”

 

The Lady Tigers will return three experienced seniors to the 2015 roster, as well as a few other returning players.

 

“Out returning players have really stepped up,” Kelley said. “They are really helping out with the younger girls. They provide them with constructive criticism.”

 

That leadership is part of the reason that Kelley said the Lady Tigers’ strong point this season would be teamwork.

 

“These girls really work well together,” Kelley said. “The older girls have really helped out with that, and they work hard together to improve the younger girls.”

 

Kelley said the Lady Tigers will be using a libero this season, for the first time.

 

“We are going to use a libero this season, and that will be totally new for us.” Kelley said.

 

A libero is a defensive specialist who can be substituted at any time for back-row players without counting against a team’s substitutions.

 

Kelley said a few things the Lady Tigers need to improve on are ball control and footwork.

 

“We have spent a lot of time this summer working on footwork and ball control,” Kelley said. “Wanda Weeks, from Enterprise, came out a few weeks ago and did a camp for us, and that is what we focused on. She is going to come back and run another camp before our first game.”

 

There a several players the Lady Tigers will depend on this year for a successful season.

 

Deonna Harris is one of the girls the Lady Tigers will be looking to for leadership.

 

“Deonna is our main setter,” Kelley said. “She will be one of the keys to our success.”

 

Shakrenda Hall is the other that Kelley said would be instrumental to the Lady Tigers.

 

“Shakrenda is one of our players that provides us with great senior leadership,” Kelley said.

 

Kelley said that the girls are excited to start the season, and that a preseason match helped calm some nerves.

 

“They are very excited to start the season,” Kelley said. “We had a scrimmage game against McKenzie a little while back, and that helped a lot to calm the butterflies for some of the younger girls.”

 

The Lady Tigers will begin the season on Thursday at home against the Pleasant Home Lady Eagles.

 

“We are ready to get started,” Kelley said. “We want to put into the games what we have been practicing all summer.”