After their first ten matches, the historically successful Bridgeport Indians Volleyball program was an uncharacteristic 4-5-1, far from the perennial state tournament and championship contender they've been in the last 11 years.
 
About that start, Coach Ali Burton said, "We looked at who we were playing, the competition we had to start off 4-5-1, not getting excited over it, we were playing good teams, we were finding out early what we needed to work on". The team had a lot of talent back from last year, but their All-State setter, Addison Veigel, is playing at Fairmont State now. The setter is like the QB on a football team, the offense runs through her. The inside and outside hitters have to get used to getting her passes and being able to predict how and when those passes would come.
 
Fast forward to last night's utter domination of the tri match against Elkins and Fairmont Senior, and the Lady Indians are on a 14-2-1 heater to run their record to 18-7-2 for the season. Going back to the start of the season, Coach Burton said, "There has been 100% improvement; the team out there tonight is totally different than the team we started the season with". She continued, "They are confident, learning to trust each other more, understanding their positions and what their roles are; they are more comfortable with it, so they are more confident when they step out on the court".
 
One of the more positive developments through the season has been the emergence of team leadership. "We had girls that have leadership qualities, but on the court, we were struggling there at the beginning. Kennedy (Wolfe) has really stepped up vocally; if we are struggling in multiple spots, she's saying Just give me the ball. She has that, and Taylor (Randolph) also; those two have stepped up". She also likes the leadership qualities emerging in her junior group: "We have that in the junior group too; they are not afraid to be vocal too".
 
Another positive development has been the emergence of sophomore Rowyn Harris, both as an outside hitter to pair with Randolph and as a key server. Coach Burton said, "She's just a sophomore; she's coming off the ACL (injury), she's getting more comfortable and getting her timing", in explaining her emergence and development during the season. In regard to her as a feature server, coach said, "She has a good serve; she's very good at picking a spot, hitting a seam, or going down the line".
 
In spite of their annual success, the Bridgeport girls are flying under the radar regarding the teams to beat in AAA, which coach Burton likes. Her focus is on getting better over the ten matches remaining in the regular season. "We just need to be ready to go all the time and not have a letup in the middle of a match, playing with that confidence like a dog and believing we can be the team, with our foot on the gas all the time. We are getting there".
 
The team's performance in a tournament last weekend at Greenbrier West is indicative of that improvement, with the highlight being a 2-1 win over Shady Spring, the number 7^th MaxPreps-ranked team in WV over all classes and 2^nd ranked team in AAA. For now, the focus is on getting better in preparation for a tough regional bracket and the attempt to get to Charleston for the 12^th year in a row.





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