The Lady Hornet varsity volleyball team is bumping, setting and spiking their way into the season. Though they have already hit the court, they are continuing to talk about the excitement for the season ahead.

A new year and different teammates required a whole summer of preparation. Throughout the summer break they attended workouts.

“For preseason, we did a lot of conditioning, running, lifting weights, working in the sand pit and basic drills along with team building-we did that with Mr. Hall,” junior Alex Dillard said.

Now that the season has begun, the girls are getting back into their volleyball schedules and rituals. Senior Britney Sahlmann says that the teammates encourage each other.

“Before the games we go out and pray over the court and just hang out and have fun,” Sahlmann said. “We always listen to music and hang out, just trying to get each other hyped before the game.”

Even though the school year has barely gotten started, volleyball season is off and running, and the beginning of the season shows what the team needs to improve on.

“In the first game [against Fountain Lake], we didn’t play as good as we could have, but that helps us prepare for the next,” Dillard said .

According to the players, there is not really a crowd cheering at the volleyball games, but they hope that will change.

“We’re really looking forward to our senior night [against Conway] on October 20,” said Sahlmann. “There’s a lot of seniors on the team this year and we are really looking forward to playing together for the last season.”

Dillard agrees with Britney about senior night, but also emphasized her excitement for another game.

“Definitely [excited for] Russellville,” she said. “Last year they were our biggest competition.”

The Lady Hornets agree that it looks like a promising year for them, as they dive into the season. This year the girls are keeping an optimistic attitude, with their eyes on the prize.

“We’ll have an amazing year, and hopefully, win conference and maybe even state,” said Dillard.