Lady Hornets ready for new season
MARTIN COUCH Sports Editor

COACH KEVIN NAGLE PHOTO Bryant Lady Hornets head coach Doug Maxwell hits a serve during practice at the main gymnasium.

Doug Maxwell hopes his eighth season as the Bryant Lady Hornets head volleyball coach will be more successful than any other.

In his days before Bryant, when he coached at Jonesboro Westside, Maxwell found out first hand what it was like to win a state championship. This year, with a promising transfer and a seasoned group of Lady Hornets, a 7A-Central championship and state tournament appearance are not out of the picture.

"We're excited about this year," Maxwell said. "We've got Ty Lindberg from Benton who will definitely help out there. She's an outstanding player and we're excited to have her fill the gap that Tiffany Ward played last year."

However, the main success for the Lady Hornets will come from experienced players like Taylor Schatt, Jordan Armstrong, Sabrina Butler, Brittany Hurd, Falon Warner and Kayla Davidson.

"Taylor is not nearly as timid as she was last year on the front row," Maxwell said. "Armstrong is setting for us again this year. She was called upon as a sophomore to take on the setting duties half the time. With one year under her belt, she's playing a lot better.

GUNNER KEVIN NAGLE PHOTO Bryant Lady Hornet Falon Warner spikes the ball back across the net during a recent practice, above. The Lady Hornets have hopes of finishing in the upper division of the tough 7A-Central conference.

"We've got three seniors - Butler, Hurd and Warner," Maxwell said. "Butler will help out on the back row, Hurd moved from a part-time setter to an outside hitter for us this year and Warner was an outside hitter part-time for the last two years. This is her third year and we have some experience there with her. Davidson played last year for our junior varsity and she will be a middle hitter for us this year. She's outstanding on the block and puts some power in there. She could shake things up there."

This is one of the most experienced volleyball teams Maxwell has coached since the program started at Bryant.

"They've all been playing since they were eighth graders and they've got some experience here," Maxwell said. "All of them have a little bit of experience on the court, but none of them have been full-time players. They've been on it enough and hopefully that experience will add to our success."

RETURN SERVE KEVIN NAGLE PHOTOS The Bryant Lady Hornets work on return service during practice on Thursday. Below, setting is another example of the workouts the Lady Hornets have gone through this summer.

The Lady Hornets have been working out twice a day during the summer and attended a camp at Arkansas State University.

"We've been going twice a day all summer long," Maxwell said. "We've gotten into the weight room quite a bit and spent a lot of time working on fundamentals. We spent a couple of days at ASU and did an outstanding job in camp. They played against some of the best teams in Arkansas and Missouri and they responded really well. We had a good core group return with us and we're excited about it. The last two weeks we've been building to the jamboree at Benton and our first game against Lake Hamilton."

The Lady Hornets begin their season this Thursday at Benton in a jamboree against Little Rock Mills, Little Rock Christian and Malvern. They host the defending 6A-State champion Lake Hamilton Lady Wolves on Aug. 28.

"These girls are tired of losing," Maxwell said. "This year's group really has a change in attitude. I've seen a lot of it this year. They've got to the point where they're really kind of fed up with losing. They've been on the cusp several years and taken several games to the fifth set, but haven't had the confi- dence to overcome it. This group has taken a lot of pride in getting over that hump and they do what it takes to finish off some of those teams like Mount St. Mary's, Little Rock Central and Cabot.

"They've kind of been dealing with that and have taken it upon themselves to take care of business this year," he added. "They realize they have the potential to be a good team this year, but there are little things they're going to have to do on the court. The way we practice has to transfer to games when the lights come on. It's going to be a very exciting season."