A Slow Start to the Season
October 9, 2014
Currently with a record of 6-7, the Diamond Bar varsity volleyball team gets ready to leave a legacy of competitive play. However, in order to successfully get past the first round in the CIF Southern Division, the Lady Brahmas must build endurance to have a consistent performance throughout each match.
The Lady Brahmas are now under the guidance of a new coach, Jeff Weihert, who came from Whittier College.
“Well I am a first year head coach at Diamond Bar High School, but last year’s 2013 class made it to the first round CIF so it is a good building block to build off of, and to make a run for playoffs again this year,” Weihert said.
With senior Jessica Pierce and freshmen Alex Diaz, the Lady Brahmas will be in good hands because of the players’ fast, piercing spikes. Senior captain Morgan Dempsey also proves to be a strong asset for the team.
This year, to have the Lady Brahmas compete at a higher level, players must increase the intensity of their practices and prepare themselves for a future of challenging matches. Although the players are aggressive at the beginning of each match, they eventually lose their momentum as the match progresses.
“Our team has a very good core of players that have been playing together for a long time which will work well, but we lack in experience in closing out games and closing the door to shut other teams down,” Weihert said.
The volleyball team starts each practice with a team meeting to go over what areas it is working on for that day. Then, the Lady Brahmas start to warm up and stretch before their passing, defensive, and offensive drills. They end each practice with a scrimmage.
In a match against Glendora High School last Thursday, the Lady Brahmas managed to either be in the lead, or tied, in the beginning of all three matches. However, the Lady Brahmas could not keep up with the Tartans and ended up losing 3-0.
“It definitely was an improvement from Brea Olinda. We are getting to where we want to be, but we are not really there yet,” senior Amanda Beltran said.