Dyer County Volleyball looks to continue hold on District 13AA

Dyer County High School Volleyball Head Coach Shanna O’Bright (right) goes over the practice plan with seniors (from left) Briley Abair, Teagan Reed, and Ava Huke as the team prepared for Monday’s season-opener at the University School of Jackson.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

By JASON PEEVYHOUSE

Sports Editor

Coming off a trio of TSSAA Class AA State Tournament appearances including a pair of third-place finishes in the last three years, the Dyer County volleyball team has been working very hard towards making another run at district and region titles as well as a fourth straight state appearance.

“We’ve been working on the things that we need in order to be successful for the season,” Dyer County Head Coach Shanna O’Bright said. “I’m excited for the season but we still have a few things that we need to work on before Aug. 19 gets here.”

O’Bright added the Lady Choctaw players have been putting in a lot of hard work on the court this preseason, especially since returning from the TSSAA-mandated dead period.

“I’m proud of the girls from what I have seen over the summer,” O’Bright added.

This year’s seniors have a historical opportunity at Dyer County High School. As part of three state tournament teams already, these players could become the first group of senior female athletes to play in a state tournament during all four years of their high school career.

Dyer County’s head coach is keeping things focused on the present and added a lot of things have to happen between now and the state tournament in October.

“If they keep working, I like to think that we can be as competitive as we have been in the past,” O’Bright explained. “We’ve got some returning players that are paving the way for the underclassmen.”

The culture of success has spread into the players as the head coach explained.

“They demand hard work, not just myself,” O’Bright said of the team’s upperclassmen. “These seniors expected everyone to be working as hard as they do every day in the gym. That’s great senior leadership.”

Having strong and dedicated senior classes through this run of state tournament appearances has began to trickle down from year to year.

“I’ve been very blessed with hard-working senior kids,” O’Bright admitted. “My seniors kind of set the tone and have this year, last year and the year before.

“They’re raising the bar and expecting everybody to meet those expectations.”

Dyer County has a trio of seniors atop the roster this season.

Lady Choctaw Briley Abair will be the setter for this season.

“You’re seeing a different kid this year than from last year,” O’Bright pointed out. “That girl has been in the weight room and that girl is committed.

“She has worked so hard this preseason. I am looking for big things from her during her senior season.”

Ava Huke returns to the middle hitter after a strong 11th-grade season.

“Ava had a great junior year at the net – hitting and blocking,” the Lady Choctaw head coach explained. “She’s got such a great personality and she is so much fun to work with. She’s going to be an important factor in our blocking game.”

Leading the way for the senior class is Teagan Reed.

“She’s just an incredible athlete and an incredible kid,” O’Bright said. “She is going to get the majority of our balls on the outside.

“She’s just an incredible athlete and she’s so powerful and so explosive. I look for her to have a big senior year. I told her last year that she had such an incredible junior season. To make her senior season better than her junior one is going to be a tough accomplishment. But, I have no doubt she has the ability to do that.”

Heading up the junior class is Rylee Key, who has had a strong summer.

“She’s played really well,” O’Bright said. “I look for her to come out with a vengeance.”

Joining her on the court is Emma Wray who will be playing outside and around the court, much like senior Reed.

Erin Foster will step and up and play some outside while Kennedy Hill will also see some defensive time in the back.

Sophomores include Blaire Acree and Kierstyn Ray, who will play on the front row and setter respectively. Joining them will be Evie Rogers, Zoe Morris and Katie Beth Caldwell.

As far as goals for the season, O’Bright listed being competitive as the main goal for the team.

“That’s something that we strive for,” she added. “During the week, on the weekends, whenever we play regular season games and these tournaments that we travel to – we just want to be competitive and control the game on our side of the net.

“We want to be able to control the ball and do what we want with it.”

Dyer County opens the season on Monday, Aug. 19 when the Lady Choctaws travel to the University School of Jackson at 6:15 p.m.