DECATUR -- After its first successful pre-season win under new head coach Tajhe Turner, the Decatur Varsity Volleyball team is poised and ready to begin its 2018 regular season in a new conference.
After a new shift in conferences set by the Arkansas Activities Association last May, the Lady Bulldogs will now play in the new 2A West, facing teams like Alpena, Hackett, Lavaca, Mulberry and longtime rival Eureka Springs. Joining the Lady Bulldogs is a new rival, Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy, which Decatur defeated in a five-set scrimmage match in Bentonville Aug. 2.
Turner's success in the Lady Spartan scrimmage proved her new game plans work well for the team and her players are ready to meet the challenges ahead. But to get the Lady Bulldogs to where they need to be took a lot of work on the part of her players who, in some cases, had to learn new positions.
"Every player has her place on the team. Some have their set positions while others rotate as needed," Turner said. "Playing the girls in different roles, especially in pre-season, helped give them more confidence."
One of the Lady Bulldog players who is the only member of the original 2015 team (the year the program began) has stepped into the leadership role for her final season with her beloved Decatur team.
"If you were to poll the girls, they would say the team leader is Desi Meek," Turner said. "Desi is a great girl, great athlete, well rounded, and I think every team needs a leader like her. She is a great hitter, and I can put her anywhere on the court and she will get the job done."
But Turner is quick to recognize that having a single team leader can become a liability for any team.
"Having one girl in the leadership role can be a detriment to the team, especially when they tend to rely on her too much," Turner explained. "This year, I wanted to show the girls that every one of them could have the confidence to step up and become a team leader."
Besides Meek, there are four other players that have shown real promise this season. One of those players is sophomore Bronwyn Berry, who is in her second year on the varsity team.
"Bronwyn is a good middle player and we found out recently that she is good in the backcourt as well," said Turner. "She was too scared to try playing in the back before, but I made her play that new position, which opened up new avenues for her."
Three other players that Turner plans to use throughout the rotation are Destiny Mejia, a junior, and sophomores Stephanie Sandoval and Ithzel Martinez.
"On the back row we have Ithzel and Stephanie, whom I plan on playing here and there and switching things up a little," said Turner. "And, finally, I have Destiny Mejia as our setter. Destiny set some last season, so I decided to pull Desi off of straight setting and train Destiny to take over next year."
With this season being Meek's final one, Turner decided it was time to begin training additional replacements besides Mejia for next year
"When Desi graduates next year, we will be down a hitter and a setter," Turner explained. "So Stephanie, Kaylee Morales and Natalia Rodriguez have expressed interest in learning both positions."
After taking over the program this season, Turner decided to throw out the old playbook and come up with a new one for this season, based on the abilities of her team.
"As far as plays, I know that we have very strong capabilities, so some are more popular than others," Turner said. "Last year we set from the front row, which left out good setters that played in the back row. Something I have been trying to teach the girls is that you don't have to set from just the front row. If it isn't a very good pass, let the back row set the ball. Just because you play in the back row doesn't mean you can't pass it to the middle."
One of the areas that showed the most improvement thus far this season is in serving. Most of Decatur's losses during the 2017 season were attributed to weak serving, one of the areas Turner worked on early in off-season practice.
"It's critical to have consistent serving," Turner stated. "If you can't serve, you can't win any games."
Turner admits she is very lucky when it comes to her team's abilities and drive and sees that drive pushing the Decatur Lady Bulldogs in a whole new direction this season.
"My team has a heart of gold and a work ethic to match," Turner said with pride. "I can't wait to see how this season plays out."
The Decatur Lady Bulldog varsity volleyball team opens its 2018 season at home against the Eureka Springs Lady Highlanders at Peterson Gym in Decatur Aug. 21. Game time is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Decatur Lady Bulldogs 2018 Varsity Volleyball Schedule
8/21: Eureka Springs, 4:30 p.m. Home
8/23: Alpena 4:30 p.m. Home
8/28: Life Way Christian, 6 p.m. Home
8/30: NWA Classical Academy, 4:30 p.m. Bentonville
9/4: Hackett, 4:30 p.m. Home
9/6: Mulberry 4:30 p.m. Away
9/11: Lavaca, 4:30 p.m. Home
9/13: Eureka Springs, 4:30 p.m. Away
9/18: Alpena, 4:30 p.m. Away
9/20: Life Way Christian, 6 p.m. Home
9/25: NWA Classical Academy. 4:30 p.m. Home
9/27: Hackett, 4:30 p.m. Away
10/2: Mulberry, 4:30 p.m. Home
10/4: Lavaca, 4:30 p.m. Away
Sports on 08/15/2018