Bison volleyball teatn advances to playoffs At the beginning of the 1998 season, the vo ll eyball team sat down and made goals for the yea r - to wi n 25 matches, have an 8-4 record in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) and make the Division II playoffs. When the season ended, the Lady Bisons had wo n 24 match es, go ne 8-4 in t he conference and made the Division II playoffs. "It felt great accomplishing our goals because we had never actually set goals before ," junior Misty Fant said. "They gave us something to wo rk toward and we we re a better team than we thought. " The leaders of this year's team were co-captainsHeather Gray, the team's lone senior, and Fant. Coach Karyl Bailey described Gray, who led the team in serving and digs per game, asa livery mature player." "Her number one strength is her serving ability," Bailey said. "Her number two strength is her passing ability and she is a very smart hitter," he said. Bailey descr ibed Fant as " intense, fi e ry and a good competitor who despises losing." The Lady Bisons started the season slowly, having to face some of th e tougher teams in the conference first, but they battl ed back to win eight of their last 10 matches. One of those last eight wi ns came against Texas A & Mat Commerce. The Lady Bisons had to win if they had any chance of making the playoffs. They went to Commerce and won three games in a row, whi ch propelled them into the playoffs with a 24-14 record and a third pl ace finish in the conference's No rth Division. "It fel t great beating Texas A & M at Commerce because they beat us three games in a row at Harding in front of our parents," Gray said. "We knew we could beat them all over the floor. " One of the reasons the Lady Bisons finished the year with a 2414 record was th eir blocking ab ility. Leading them in blocking \"as sophomore Delana Keilers, who finished fifth in the Lone Star Conference, wi th 1.48 blocks per game. "Every game day \ tried to keep in mymind that blockingwas my main job, but I couldn 't do it without our whol e team. It was a team effort , not just one person," Keil ers sa id. Another one of Harding's strengths was its offense. Leading the Lady Bisons in hitting was Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year Erika Pierson, who had a scorching .299 hitting ave rage. Also, freshman Ka ri Whitney fini shed 10th in the conference in ass ists per game, wi th 7.66. The 1998 season also marked the end of Bailey's 16-year career as head coach. He amasseda career record of 369 wins and 273 losses, with a .740 winning percentage. "It was a lot of fun," Bailey said. "\ met a lot of good people and had some good times wi th the players and ass istants. It is a satisfying feeling that we could fini sh on a good note. " - Ryan Puckett LSC All Conference Heather Gray, 2nd Team Delana Keil ers, 2nd Team Erika Pierson, 2nd Team Misty Fant, Honorable Mention LSC Commissioner's Honor Roll McKensey Kemmerer Rebecca Dahlstrom • 220 ATHLETI CS VolleghallTeam: Front Row: Summer Page, Delana Kellers, Tatia Wood, Erika Pierson, Laura Lejarzar, Stephanie Denney. Back Row: Coach Karyl Bailey, Kari Whitney, Heather Gray, Misty Fant, Rebecca Dahlstrom, McKensey Kemmerer, Jim Diehl.
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