By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
GAYLESVILLE – Lacey Finley said she’s learned a lot over the past few volleyball seasons as an assistant coach from former Gaylesville coaches Jeanne Hatmaker and Kaylee Brannon. Now it’s her turn to take the reigns of the Lady Trojans.
Finley was officially promoted to head coach over the summer. Since then, Finley – along with assistant coaches Cortney Joseph and Haley Bryson – has taken the Lady Trojans back to what she calls the foundations.
Among the things the Lady Trojans have worked on is their overall mentality and their passing. Finley said she’s been encouraged by what she’s seen so far.
“Really for us I think the biggest challenge has just been the mentality game,” Finley said. “They’re so hard on themselves, harder than a coach could ever be, so we’ve gone back to the foundations. We’ve really pounded passing, our serve-receive, and just getting our rotation. Serve-receive is what has gotten us in the past.”
To help improve their game, the Lady Trojans went to Munciana camp in Guntersville over the summer. Finley said they ended up “being competitive” with a few teams there.
“I was really proud of them for that,” she said. “They’ve been working super hard. I really wish everyone could see from where we started to where we are now. It has come so far.”
The Lady Trojans are still a fairly young team. They have just one junior in back middle Anabelle West. The rest of the varsity roster is composed of sophomores and freshmen.
Lining up on the left side is Lydia Reynolds and Aubree Colbert. Middle hitters are Abbie Bishop, Kylie Canada, Kya Green, and Charlee Sentell.
Joining West at back middle is Alyssa Koonce. Lexi Miller is on the back row. Setters are Bayleigh Ratliff and Chloe Collins. Collins set for the Lady Trojans last season.
“We’re doing something different this year. We’re running a 6-2 instead of a 5-1,” Finley said.
When asked what her expectations are for this season, Finley said she just wants to see improvement.
“I don’t necessarily want to base it on the amount of games we win, just that we’ve grown,” she said. “The girls have already impressed me so far this summer, and I’m really excited to see where and how much they grow and where they are by the end of the season.
“Again, it’s just the mentality that we’re battling. I want them to think of success as improvement as well. Of course we want to win, but I just want the importance to be on growth.”
Gaylesville competes in Class 1A, Area 12 along with two-time defending state champion Spring Garden, Faith Christian, Jacksonville Christian and Woodland. They open the season on Thursday with a tri-match at Gadsden City with Collinsville.
