Bring on the season.
Allison Yingst and Lydia Dyson don’t care they’re only sophomores. They’re itching for the Heritage Academy volleyball team to start another season so it can show everyone how much it has grown since last season.
“I think we have kind of been on the edge of being really good the past few years,” said Yingst, who plays middle blocker. I think this year will be the year we finally get into it and finally succeed.”
Yingst said the team’s experience and the fact many of the players have been together for three years gives her the confidence to think Heritage Academy could be more competitive in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) tournament at the end of the season.
Heritage Academy coach Liz Fields agrees. The former Alabama player, who founded the program in 2012 with Liz Byrne, has talked about the program’s growth the last few years. This season, she feels it is time for the players and the program to move forward.
“I am expecting a lot from them this season,” said Fields, whose team will play host to Caledonia at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Mississippi University for Women’s Pohl Gymnasium in its season opener. “They are still a young team, but it is time to step up and not play like a young team. It’s time to play like a mature team that has been at this level for a few years and do their best.”
Yingst feels the team has been maturing and learning at a high level despite not having any seniors. Fields called Yingst and Dyson two of her “babies” because they aren’t even halfway through their high school careers, but she also said both players are “bold” and ready to lead the way to bigger accomplishments.
“We’re a young team, but we have been coming up for a long time,” Dyson said. “I hope this will be our season.”
Dyson said the maturation process has been a long road that included more than its share of bumps in the fifth and sixth grades. Now, though, she feels confident she will be able to play a variety of positions to help the program take a step forward.
Fields sees it happening because the players understand it is their time to step up and that they shouldn’t use their relative inexperience and youth as an excuse.
“I think this year we will be finally able to be able to finish the match and to be consistent every set and not ride a roller coaster like we did last year,” Fields said. “I am looking for people to set up and spread that energy and positivity and communication.”
Fields also wants the players to expect more from themselves. She said lessons from last season, when Heritage Academy had problems closing out matches, could help motivate the players to accomplish more.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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