Going to Nationals is this year's goal for the Lady Bison volleyball team The women's volleyball team battled its way to a 39-15 record for 1995. "I think we had a really good season, " said Casey Williams from Breckenridge, Texas. "Getting to the regionals is always our first goal so we can go on to nationals from there." The team attained both goals during the 1995 season, reaching the semifinals in the nationals competition. Early in the season, Lori Hendricks and Regina Huddleston led the team to a big victory in the Rhodes College tournament. After the Lady Bisons won in the finals by a 3-0 margin, Coach Karyl Bailey said, "I knew we would have the offensive potential, but I didn't expect the rest of our game to be as good as it was this early." Coach Bailey knew that the Lady Bisons would have to play some tougher teams to prepare themselves for the transition between NAIA and NCAA II competition. "It was imperative that we began to toughen the schedule with good NCAA teams, yet at the same time, Harding needed to play the area NAIA schools. We also had to get into the top NAIA competition in Texas for the opportunity to be ranked in NAIAcompetition, "Bailey said. Ahigh point for the team was participating in a NAIA Independent Southwest Regional tournament for the first time. The Southwest Region is composed of independent teams and conferences in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Harding won this tournament, defeating John Brown University 3-0 in the finals. Hendricks was named Southwest Region Volleyball Player of the Week and Southwest Independent Player of the Year. Hendricks was also named an all-tournament player in every event the team played this year. Huddleston and Hendricks were members of the All Southwest Independent team. Huddleston joined with Hendricks in the "30 kills in a match" club, with both having hit 30 kills in one match. CaseyWilliams was a consistent leader in assists and quarterbacked the team to a successful year. Coach Bailey finished the list of honors when he was named the Southwest Independent Coach of the Year. The team spent much time and energy preparing for games and major tournaments. Every day, the girls practiced for at least two hours, developing their individual skills and learning to work together as a team. The large number of tournaments and games in other towns and states caused them to be on the road constantly. "We traveled most weekends and sometimes even during the week, so we missed a lot of classes," Huddleston said. "It made us work harder when we were in class because we always had to catch up," Hendricks added. Still, the players managed to keep a positive attitude on the road. "We spend so much time together as a team that we have gotten to know each other really well. That's why we love spending time together. " Hendricks said. Williams agreed, "We're so close as a team that we're almost like a big family. " "Not winning nationals was a big disappointment but it was an honor to have had the opportunity to be there and we were happy with that, " Bailey said. This family and team spirit is expected to carry them to a successful season next year. - Diana King Volleyball. First Row: Allison Clemson, Dusty Holleman, LorzHendricks, ShelaBums, LeKayBain, Regina Huddleston, KeriMayo, Heather Gray. Second Row: Tara Claborn, Matt Claborn, Jim Diehl, Casey Williams, Stephanie Denney, Jennifer Stein, Hannah Crider, Mark England, Lisa Grove, Coach Karyl Bailey. Photo by JeffMontgomery.
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