BANGS – With a drop in classification, head coach Cheyenne Lovelady is hopeful the Bangs Lady Dragons make a long-awaited return to the postseason, and also compete for the District 6-2A championship.
After posting a 12-17 record last year, with a 2-12 mark against District 8-3A foes, the Lady Dragons will be facing Albany, Coleman, Hawley and Ranger in league action this year.
“The girls deserve to be competing against schools that are about the same size as us,” Lovelady said. “Albany is always super competitive, and they’ll be tough, but we definitely should be able to compete with them and Hawley this year. Our goal is definitely to win our district this year, which is tough with a young team, but I totally have faith that we will.”
Bangs returns a solid nucleus from last year’s squad, while embracing an influx of young talent.
“I have five returners and two that I’ve pulled up, so right now my varsity is small, but I plan on probably grabbing a couple more,” Lovelady said. “I have five really solid players coming back. The two that I have coming up that are going to play this year with the returners are also super solid. They’re both hitters and I think they’re going to be really strong for us as well. My girls have grown over the summer.”
Among the players to watch for the Lady Dragons are the front line of Kasey Solis, Jadyn Miller and Neeley Bradley.
“My whole team is pretty solid, but I’d say I have three really solid hitters – a middle, an outside and a right side,” Lovelady said. “My middle is Kasey. She’s super athletic and really coachable. Jaydn is my outside, and she’s extremely strong, and then I have a right side, who is also probably going to be a setter for me, Neeley.”
Lovelady feels perhaps for the first time in her tenure at Bangs, the offense will be the greatest strength of the team.
“We are working really hard to be able to pass the ball so we can create a really good offense, but I think for 2A I think we’ll be one of the biggest teams, especially in our district,” Lovelady said. “I’ve got four or five really good-sized hitters this year. We haven’t been offensively strong since I came back to Bangs, so this will be a really fun year for offense.
The Lady Dragons open their season at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when they host Early, Bangs will also face Dublin, Abilene Christian, Comanche, Merkel, Brownwood, and Bronte, while also taking part in the Veribest, Hamilton and Dublin tournaments in pre-district action.
“I want to see the girls come together as a team,” Lovelady said of the early-season goals. “We’re a small group and we’re really young. I have two juniors and one senior, the rest of my girls are sophomores. We need to be able to come together and learn how to play together and know we can reach some really high goals if we come together as a team.”
The eight-game district slate begins at home against Albany on Sept. 24.
***
BANGS LADY DRAGONS 2022 VARSITY VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
| Aug. 9 | Early | 6:30 p.m. |
| Aug. 11-13 | at Veribest tournament | TBA |
| Aug. 18-20 | at Hamilton tournament | TBA |
| Aug. 25-27 | at Dublin tournament | TBA |
| Aug. 30 | Dublin | 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 3 | at Abilene Christian | Noon |
| Sept. 6 | at Comanche | 6 p.m. |
| Sept. 10 | Merkel | Noon |
| Sept. 13 | Brownwood | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 20 | at Bronte | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 24 | Albany* | Noon |
| Sept. 27 | at Coleman* | 6:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 1 | Hawley* | Noon |
| Oct. 4 | at Ranger* | 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 8 | OPEN | |
| Oct. 11 | at Albany* | 6:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 15 | Coleman* | Noon |
| Oct. 18 | at Hawley* | 6:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 22 | Ranger* | 11 a.m. |
| Oct. 25 | OPEN |
* District 6-2A Game