After having just a few weeks to prepare for her first season after being hired in July 2023, second-year Brownwood volleyball head coach Cheyanne Lovelady is more confident in the strides the Lady Lions will make in 2024.
Practices began Monday, Aug. 5 and the first game of the season falls Tuesday as the Early Lady Horns visit for a 5 p.m. contest. Along with five days of practice, the Lady Lions also scrimmaged at San Angelo Central this past Friday.
“The girls really impressed me at the scrimmage,” Lovelady said. “They’re starting to buy in and trust me a little bit more. We have a lot of new faces on the varsity team, but overall I was really proud of them and how good they looked.”
The Lady Lions return a solid nucleus from last year’s 7-27 squad, which won three more matches than the season prior.
“Our returning seniors Aubrie Felux and Miranda Northcutt are going to lead the way on the front row,” Lovelady said. “Aniah Hines is possibly going to play all the way around for us this year. She’s a really strong middle blocker, but she may be setting on the back row for us. Hannah Deen is also a strong hitter on the outside.”
Lovelady reiterated play at the net will be Brownwood’s strength this season, while the back row of defensive specialists will be almost exclusively new faces.
“Our strengths will be our height in the front row. If we can get some really good passes we could have a really strong offense,” Lovelady said. “We have a bunch of new faces defensively, but I think we have a good chance to be strong back there. They’re just new and have to learn and grow together and play beside each other on the back row.”
Following the season opener against Early, the Lady Lions will also tangle with Lampasas, Llano, Bangs, Wall, Jim Ned, Brady, Granbury NCTA, and Abilene Cooper before District 6-4A action commences.
“Since we do have quite a new faces from JV or move ins from other schools or kids just deciding to play this year, we just have to come together as a team and learn to play together,” Lovelady said. “They’ve really been coachable this first week of practice, so they just need to continue to grow.”
Brownwood will also compete in the Abilene Bev Ball tournament this coming weekend, the Albany tournament, and in a first in at least 20 years, host its own tournament, along with Bangs, Aug. 22-24.
“I decided I wanted to try and host our own tournament so Bangs and I got together and decided we were going to do something a little different this year,” Lovelady said. “We’re trying it out and we have 12 teams signed up for varsity. I’d like to see it grow next year, but we decided to have this tournament a little late in the game so we didn’t get it out to as many people as we would have liked to. But I’m really excited about it and think it’s going to be a good turnout.”
The District 6-4A slate begins Sept. 27 at league newcomer Brock, while Stephenville, Glen Rose Graham, and Mineral Wells are also back on the docket. The Lady Lions have not won a district contest since 2021, a trend Lovelady expects to change this fall.
“I’m excited but I originally wished there had been a change because the girls have been playing these teams for so long,” Lovelady said. “They know the teams we’re playing are good, but we’re also improving so much. Mentally, we have to handle the challenge of facing teams we haven’t been as successful against, and we’re adding another strong team in Brock. But I’m excited to see the girls overcome and be mentally tough enough to beat some of the teams we haven’t been able to the last couple of years.”
As for the potential the 2024 Lady Lions possess, Lovelady said, “This team can be very, very good. We have a lot of talent on this team and they’re starting to realize it. But we’re going to have to really dig deep and pick things up quick and get their confidence going. But every day since we’ve started two-a-days they’ve improved, so I know we can go far if we continue in that direction.”
Brownwood Lady Lions 2024 Varsity Volleyball Schedule
| A13 | Early | 5 p.m. |
| A16-17 | at Abilene Bev Ball tournament | TBD |
| A20 | at Lampasas | 6 p.m. |
| A22-24 | at Heart of Texas tournament | TBD |
| A27 | Llano | 5:30 p.m. |
| A29-31 | at Albany tournament | TBD |
| S3 | Bangs | 6 p.m. |
| S6 | at Wall | 6 p.m. |
| S10 | Jim Ned | 6 p.m. |
| S13 | Brady | 6 p.m. |
| S17 | Granbury NCTA | 6 p.m. |
| S20 | Abilene Cooper | 6 p.m. |
| S27 | at Brock* | 6 p.m. |
| O1 | Glen Rose* | 6 p.m. |
| O4 | Mineral Wells* | 6 p.m. |
| O8 | at Stephenville* | 6 p.m. |
| O11 | at Graham * | 6 p.m. |
| O15 | Brock* | 6 p.m. |
| O18 | at Glen Rose* | 6 p.m. |
| O22 | at Mineral Wells* | 6 p.m. |
| O25 | Stephenville* | 6 p.m. |
| O29 | Graham * | 6 p.m. |
*District 6-4A Match