Monday afternoon served as the final preseason dress rehearsal for the Brownwood Lady Lions volleyball team, just seven days after Cheyanne Lovelady conducted her first practice as head coach of the program.
Lovelady, who was hired by Brownwood ISD on July 14 after spending the previous four seasons at her alma mater Bangs, will guide the Lady Lions into a dual match Tuesday at Llano. Brownwood will face host Llano at 4 p.m., followed by a contest with Wall.
Coming off a 4-23 campaign a year ago, coupled with the installation of a different system from a new head coach, the Lady Lions are nowhere near a finished product at this point. But Lovelady is anxious to see her team’s development as the season progresses.
“I’ve tried to throw a lot of information their way,” Lovelady said after Monday’s workout. “I taught them two defenses alone today. We also went over a lot of my terminology just to see where we are, and what we’re most knowledgeable about. We have some room for growth there, but overall they’re athletic kids and they’re picking stuff up fast and they want to learn, so that’s exciting.”
The Lady Lions scrimmaged Clyde, Sterling City and Wall this past Friday in San Angelo, the first opportunity Lovelady had to see her charges in competition. Brownwood dealt with its sharing of growing pains as at times the concepts are completely new, on other occasions the terminology may be unfamiliar. Still, the Lady Lions continue to make strides in the system Lovelady began installing just over a week ago.
“We’ve got some kids coming back at the varsity level and we’ve got a girl or two that played club, so they do have a good amount of knowledge about the game and they bring aspects to the court,” Lovelady said. “Offensively we’re pretty good but we’re still sorting out the setter position. Where we need the most work is our back row defense and passing right now.”
Among the Lady Lions to watch are varsity returnees from last season, Aubrie Felux and Hannah Deen at the outside hitter positions and middle blockers Aniah Hines and Miranda Northcutt.
Other players expected to contribute at the varsity level in various roles include Trinity Roberts, Maddi Scott, Icess Hall, Chloe Walls, Jeniffer Romero, Emma Ringer, Molly Oliver, Jaslin Jones and Layla Weedon.
Following Tuesday’s dual match, the Lady Lions will compete at the Abilene Bev Ball tournament Friday and Saturday.
The first home match for the Lady Lions takes places Tuesday, Aug. 15 against San Angelo Central. Brownwood only has two other home pre-district games on the schedule – Aug. 22 against Lampasas and Sept. 8 against Midland Christian.
Road games prior to district include Granbury NCTA (Aug. 29), Gatesville (Sept. 5), Brady (Sept. 15), and Burnet (Sept. 19), with trips to the Glen Rose (Aug. 18-19) and Dublin (Aug. 24-26) tournaments.
“The main thing I want to see is a little more cohesion on the court,” Lovelady said of the pre-district goals. “We’re lacking in communication and anticipation. We watch the game a lot right now and I want us to get to where we’re anticipating and we’re ready to play the whole time.”
The District 6-4A slate begins Sept. 22 at Glen Rose and ends Oct. 20 at Graham. The first two and last two district games are on the road, and Brownwood plays four straight league contests at Warren Gym.
The Lady Lions were winless in eight district encounters a year ago.
“I know we’re in a really solid district that has been very successful in the past,” Lovelady said. “I anticipate a challenge for sure, but I also anticipate us making the playoffs. That is definitely a goal for the first year.”
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BROWNWOOD LADY LIONS 2023 VARSITY VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
| Aug. 8 | at Llano/Wall | 4 p.m. |
| Aug. 11-12 | at Abilene Bev Ball tournament | TBA |
| Aug. 15 | San Angelo Central | 6 p.m. |
| Aug. 18-19 | at Glen Rose tournament | TBA |
| Aug. 22 | Lampasas | 6 p.m. |
| Aug. 24-26 | at Dublin tournament | TBA |
| Aug. 29 | at Granbury NCTA | 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 4 | at Gatesville | 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 8 | Midland Christian | 4:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 15 | at Brady | 4:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 19 | at Burnet | 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 22 | at Glen Rose* | 5 p.m. |
| Sept. 26 | at Mineral Wells* | 5 p.m. |
| Sept. 29 | Stephenville* | 5 p.m. |
| Oct. 3 | Graham* | 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 10 | Glen Rose* | 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 13 | Mineral Wells* | 5 p.m. |
| Oct. 17 | at Stephenville* | 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 20 | at Graham* | 5 p.m. |
| Oct. 24 | Abilene Christian | 5 p.m. |
* District 6-4A Match