By By Matthew Nascone
How a team opens the season can show any head coach a lot about how the squad will play the rest of the year, and Blaire Hall liked what she saw in the opening match for the Northview Lady Chiefs volleyball team.
"The girls have made a lot of progress from where they were last year," Hall said. "They played very well together and they each added their individual talents to the team. But we just have to put it all together if we want to win some matches."
The team lost their opening match at home against Jay 25-14, 25-19, 25-22. Hall said it was a learning experience and the girls did a great job for the first match and she said they are much farther along than they were at the end of last season.
She said she is still trying to figure out what combination of girls at each position will provide the most success for the Lady Chiefs.
"They were all put in different positions than they are use to and they did all right," Hall said. "But we still have to work on finding the best combination of where they are on the court. And I believe they have gotten dramatically better over the last year. Their individual skills have increased a lot."
Hall said the leadership of the lone senior on the team was present against Jay.
"Crystal Hollingsworth is our stable leader and I know we can always count on her to play well," she said.
The JV team also lost against Jay.
The Lady Chiefs were scheduled to host Flomaton Aug. 22, but that match has been cancelled due to scheduling conflicts, Hall said. The Lady Chiefs next match will be the district opener against Catholic at Catholic Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. And Hall said that would be a challenge for her team. The JV team will face Catholic at 5:30 p.m.
The team is a young team, with only one senior and two returning starters from last year's team but Hall said she will not let that get in the way of success and she said the team will be all right this year.