CRESTVIEW — It could be a promising year for Crestview High School's volleyball team.
The Bulldogs narrowly missed the playoffs in 2014, after ending a nine-year playoff drought in 2013, but Coach Kathy Combest is optimistic.
“I have a lot of players coming back,” she said. “The strength of this team is quickness. And I think we are going to be big at the net.
“I think that’s going to help us with big hitters, if we get them (Crestview’s defenders) blocking at the net. We may cause problems for big hitters.”
WORKING ON DEFENSE
Returning players Kierra Potts, Kailey Ness and Christa Johnson will be joined up front by Riley Edwards.
“We just didn’t have another middle (player) that we thought was strong enough,” Combest said of the freshman. “She had played middle all three years at Davidson. We just felt like she already had the knowledge and some of the height.”
Combest said the Bulldogs have spent a lot of time working on defense this offseason, as it was an area that hurt the team last year.
“We would be getting everything and hitting good and then have a letdown on the back row (defense),” she said. “We have to move better and react faster.”
Some of the other areas where Combest would like to see improvement are communication, and just ensuring the Bulldogs run their offense off of every ball that comes over the net.
Potts, a junior, says the Bulldogs have a chance to be a good team.
“I really want this team to go far, and I want to help push this team,” she said. “We are really going to have a good offense this year. Defense is a big part of the game and we have to work on that.”
'WE CAN GO PAST DISTRICT'
While Potts, an offensive player, sees the offense as the team's strength, Marisa Rogers, a defensive player, sees things differently.
“We are a short team, and we don’t have really big hitters, but our defense is going to be the strength of the team,” she said. “We have a long way to go but we are going to get there. I’m real excited to see how we grow as a team.”
Johnson, a senior, said the team has plenty of potential.
“As long as we play our game, I think we can go past district,” she said. “We have a lot of talent and a lot of skill. When everybody (on the team) thinks we are going to win, we can be good.”
The Bulldogs are in a new three-team District 2-6A with Okaloosa County rivals Choctawhatchee and Fort Walton Beach.
Noticeably missing from the district is Niceville.
“Choctaw has a great program, and so does Fort Walton,” Combest said. “I’m not going to say (that) because Niceville is gone that it is going to be any easier.
“I think Niceville could have been beaten by us, Choctaw or Fort Walton on any day last year. Y’all (fans and sports writers) are worried about Niceville. I’m not.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Bulldog volleyball team eyes challenges, strengths