Volleyball Tourney Recap

The Texas Wesleyan Invitational Tournament might count towards the regular season standings, but it was a learning experience for the Lady Wolfpack, according to Head Coach Tommy Harold.

"We've still got some work to do. Still trying to develop who goes where and find out who we are as a team, but we have some really positive things to build on," Harold said. "It was a good weekend, we just need a little fine tuning, a little more game experience."

Part of the focus for these games, according to Harold, was to make adjustments in the lineup and for the team to get used to each other. He said there are many possibilities, in terms of the starting lineup, but nothing is set in stone yet. Harold added that some freshman can fight their way into the starting lineup.

"You've got some ideas, but it changes with a practice, it changes with an injury, with a lot of things. I think some of the freshman can work their way into the lineup, they have already seen some playing time and done some good things," he said.

Gina Gill, psychology sophomore, said these first games will really help the freshman and the team.

"Things were coming together and we we were playing as a unit," she said. "I guess you could say you could see light bulbs clicking."

Despite it being very early, there are a few things Harold knows will happen, such as strong play from the veterans on the team.

"We expect a lot from Gina (Gill), we expect a lot from Amanda (Oldani) at the libero position, we expect a lot from Sam (Worsham) at the setting position, but all those guys are going to have people pushing them," he said. "There's competition at every position this year, which is great."

Worsham said she is ready for the fight. "Its exciting," she said. "I'm expecting myself, as well as the hitters, to step up and produce a lot more numbers than last year."

Since there are no guaranteed positions on the team yet, Harold believes it will make for better practices, which will result in a better team.

"It makes the girls work hard at practice. They know they have to go out and earn their opportunities for playing time"said Harold.

Going into the start of the season, Harold is confident in his team's offensive abilities and said that they have to work on minor things.

"(Our strengths are) always going to be our defense," he said. "We're always looking to out-dig the other team. We know that if we can win the serve, serve-receive battle we'll be in good shape, so that's always our focus."

They also learned about some areas that need work, but according to Harold, they are areas the team always practices. "We always work on the serve serve-receive, we have to pass better than the other team. If we can do that then we can run our offense," he said.

Worsham said the freshman have skill, but that it might take time for them to get into the groove of the team's playing style.

"The system that we run is completely different from anything that anyone has ever played," she said. "It's a lot of information for the freshman to learn, but they're handling it well."

She added that the returners will play a big role in helping the freshman learn and fit into the team.

The 'Pack played five matches, winning two in dominant fashion, 3-0 against Breanau and 3-1 against South Wester Assemblies. Harold added he was pleased with his team's performance in 2-3 defeat against University of Texas at Brownsville, since they are ranked eighth in the nation.

"There was no pressure," Gill said. "We just went out there, played volleyball and we did what worked, and what worked was our system."

Eduardo Gonzalez can be reached at ejgonzal@loyno.edu