Lady Mustang volleyball team will open practice Wednesday

Simmons

Smoky Mountain's volleyball team will open practice at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, at the school gym.

Girls in grades 10-12 are expected to practice until noon. Freshmen will report at noon and practice until 2 p.m.

Juniors and seniors will practice from 3-6 p.m. next Thursday with freshmen and sophomores going from 5-7 p.m.

"We're looking forward to getting started," said Coach Cindi Simmons, who is preparing for her 19th season. "We've got a lot of hard working kids."

Simmons has led her teams to three state and 11 conference championships.

The Lady Mustangs are coming off a 21-6 season in which they won the Western Athletic Conference title with a 12-0 mark.

Junior Katie Loughlin is the lone returnee from the regular rotation. Six of last year's eight seniors were named all-conference or honorable mention.

"That will give an opportunity for players to step up and find a spot," Simmons said of the graduation losses. "The players should be excited about this opportunity."

The Lady Mustangs won't be out to defend their WAC championship since the conference has been disbanded. Instead, they will be competing in the Mountain Athletic Conference, which includes two-time defending state champion East Henderson.

"We know this season will present many new challenges," Simmons said. "The MAC should be one of the strongest conferences in the state."

One of the decisions the coach will be making in the pre-season if whether to use one or two setters.

That's among the areas Simmons is looking at this week as she conducts a clinic for girls who will be in grades 9-12.

"This gives us a jump on practice," she said. "We'll be working on basic fundamental skills." Nikki Young will coach the JVs and assist with the varsity. Melissa Hill will be an assistant for both squads.

All-day scrimmages are planned for Aug. 4 at Tuscola and Aug. 11 at Enka.

The season is slated to get under way Aug. 13 with West Henderson visiting SM.

The installation of new bleachers in the gym has been delayed. Some early-season contests could be switched to the road with the re-matches at home. Another option could be to play some matches at county elementary schools. The third possibility is to play at SM with temporary bleachers.

The gym will be shut down while the bleachers are installed so any matches during that time will have to be moved. Those dates aren't yet known.

The schedule as it stands now is as follows:

August

13 - West Henderson
14 - at Murphy
16 - at Pisgah
21 - at Asheville
23 - at North Buncombe
28 - East Henderson
30 - at Tuscola

September

4 - Erwin
5 - Murphy
11 - at Franklin
13 - Roberson
18 - at Enka
20 - Asheville
25 - North Buncombe
27 - at East Henderson

October