By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

SPRING GARDEN – On Thursday night, last year’s Spring Garden volleyball team will receive their 2023 Class 1A state championship rings at halftime of the football team’s season opener against Sand Rock. The presentation will officially put closure to last season’s success and turn the current Lady Panthers’ attention to 2024.

And potentially an encore performance.

Spring Garden head coach Ricky Austin said it normally might bother him presenting the Lady Panthers with their state championship rings into the current season. After all, they’ll have already opened the 2024 season with a match against Pepperell, Ga, just prior to the ceremony.

But Austin is confident the 2024 Lady Panthers aren’t going to be complacent and satisfied with their latest piece of championship jewelry.

“Usually, we’ve already got our rings and we’ve already moved on, but I think it fuels the fire with this bunch,” he said. “I’m excited to see what getting another state championship ring will do for them. I think it just adds something to (the 2024 season).”

Austin has good reason to feel the way he does. He returns his top two outside hitters in seniors Ace Austin and Maggie Jarrett. The younger Austin posted 746 kills last season.

Senior Olivia Law is back in the middle, and senior Kristen Lewis returns at libero. Senior Avery Steward is back to set all the Lady Panther hitters after dishing out over 1,400 assists last season.

“We’ve got a very good group coming back,” Coach Austin said. “We had a good group of seniors last year who all contributed, but this group here probably has a little more experience, as far as the type of battles they’ve been in. They’ve been in the state championship match. They were in the Addison state semifinal match. They’ve been in county championship matches. Probably overall they have more experience than last year’s group. I think that’s something that showed up in practice too. They’ve been really consistent in practice.”

The Lady Panthers also feature several promising newcomers in their lineup who have been promoted from the junior varsity to mix in with the veterans. They include junior Montana Highfield, senior Chloe Fennell, junior Hollis Jane Petty, junior Isabel Bussler, and sophomore Lacie Jo McMurray.

“Montana was right there behind our two middles last year, but we made the right decision by letting her play JV all year because she is ready now. She looks really, really good as another middle for us,” Coach Austin said. “I’m excited to see what she’s going to do for us.”

Fennell and Petty will provide a 1-2 punch on the right side.

“Chloe played JV last year because she moved in and was not eligible to be on varsity. It was great for her to be there because she got our terminology and got in our system. She’s showing signs of progressing every day. I love what she’s doing as a right-side blocker,” Coach Austin said.

“Hollis Jane Petty is really showing signs of progressing. She’s the player every coach would want because if somebody goes down in the middle of a set I could put her in at any position and get us through until we make some changes. She’s so valuable in multiple positions for us. She’s a pretty solid right side for us right now.”

Bussler and McMurray are Lady Panther defensive specialists.

“Belle just couldn’t quite get to varsity (last year). Her reps in JV have really helped her. It’s the same thing with Lacie Jo. She’s really had the same role as Belle. Those two will play back row defense and be serving specialists. They will be mostly playing defensive positions for Ace and Maggie Jarrett when they need a break. That’s valuable during long tournaments on the weekends. They’re still growing and they’re still learning, but man, they work hard.”

Spring Garden competes in a revamped Area 12. Teams include Faith Christian, Gaylesville, Jacksonville Christian and Woodland.

While winning another area title is certainly one of the things the Lady Panthers would like to check off their list on the path to another state title this season, it’s not one of their ultimate goals.

“We’re not looking at the end (of the season). We’re still looking at what we’re doing every day, how we approach it, what we get out of the day, and if we’re a little bit better than we were yesterday,” Coach Austin said. “That’s what we want to do every day. We’re just going to hang on, sit back and see where that takes us. If we’re doing that, if we’re making sure we do that every day, then it’s going to take us to some places that are fun to be.”