Bryant freshman volleyball on target
MARTIN COUCH Sports Editor

VOLLEYBALL KEVIN NAGLE PHOTOS The Bryant Lady Hornets volleyball team has been working hard all summer to prepare for their upcoming season.

The Bryant Lady Hornets freshman volleyball team will be hard to deal with this year in the Central Arkansas Conference.

The Lady Hornets are bringing up a group of freshmen that have learned the game under head coach Monica Parish for the last two years.

"This is the first team that started with volleyball in the seventh grade," Parish said. "And with our practices, I can already tell a difference."

The two years of experience will go a long way in getting the Lady Hornets in the thick of the South divisional race in the conference. The team members are London Abernathy, Alex Boone, Lyndsay Brazil, Jenna Bruick, Ashley Chaloner, Peyton Delaughter, Jordan Gentry, Maggie Hart, Micheala Miller, Lauren Reed, Kayla Sory, Payton Thacker and Brianna White.

"Two years ago, I was having to teach them what a dink was and now they know these terms and compared to what I had to teach, we're further along," Parish said. "I know that Brianna White is going to be strong at the net. She's got a vertical that can go. We've got a good server in Jenna Bruick. London Abernathy is a good all-round player, Alex Boone is going to be strong, Lyndsay Brazil is another all-round player that does whatever I ask her to do; Lauren Reed played some Junior Olympic volleyball this summer at Conway and Kayla Sory is an athlete. These others, we're running them in and out now to see where they will fit, but it's a smaller group than I've had."

SERVE PRACTICE KEVIN NAGLE PHOTO The Lady Hornets work diligently on return serves during practice at the Bryant middle school gym.

There are 13 Lady Hornets on the freshman roster this year for Parish.

"This group is more ex- perienced and it was easier to choose them," the coach said. "We're looking forward to this year. Every year we've been getting better and this year, I think we're going to take a bigger jump."

For the Lady Hornets to be successful, Parish noted that the team must keep improving.

"We're just going to have to keep improving," she said.