The Llano High School volleyball team has a blistering start to the 2024 season.
The Lady Jackets, who were ranked in the Texas Girls Coaches Association Class 3A poll, have won 13 matches in their first 18 attempts. In the last two decades, there doesn't seem to be a better beginning to a season.
And that's great news for a squad that has more than potential. It is a contender, and the last three matches have illustrated that.
Llano traveled to Brownwood Aug. 27 and beat the Lady Lions 25-21, 25-18, 25-12 then welcomed Marble Falls Sept. 3 and won 25-17, 25-16, 25 -18. The only blemish was to Burnet, a 23-25, 20-25, 13-25 setback to a program that has what the Lady Jackets are wanting to establish.
A recent history of winning district crowns and advancing several rounds in the playoffs that ultimately leads to the regional tournament.
When talking about the Lady Jackets, most begin with the Highland Lakes region's best all-around player – senior Amelia Robinson. Robinson is showing her versatility to play any position on the floor very well and can knock down kills from the front and the back row. Her confidence in her ability is evident in that no one on the other side of the net troubles her. She simply finds a way to get the point when her team needs it the most.
One of the great offseason moves was shifting senior Maddie Green to setter because it allowed her and Robinson to stand side by side and form an impenetrable wall on the front row thanks to their height and leaping ability.
Let's throw something else out that perhaps isn't noticed as much – how the two give their teammates and the underclassmen confidence by how they play and what is said.
Burnet head coach Crystal Shipley said of graduates MaeSyn Gay and Zaria Solis that their compliments to the others rose those players' self-confidence and self-belief far more than what coaches could say. Because it came from athletes others want to emulate.
While Green and Robinson may have the brightest spotlights, they would say the Lady Jackets have far more than two players. And they're right.
With junior libero Sydney Kuykendall leading the defensive effort, sophomores Hailey Lucas and Addison Priem positively contributing when their numbers are called, and veterans Bodhi Cherry, Jayme Duroy and Violeta Zagada, who are seniors, and Emilie Clopton, Avery Kendrick, Bailey Niemeyer and Peyton Parrish, who are juniors, doing their parts, there's no reason to believe Llano doesn't have great moments coming.
And make no mistake District 5-3A will be as competitive as ever. Ingram has a 16-7 record, while Comfort is at 11-9 and Blanco is at 10-14. While it's a long shot that Brady and Florence will advance to the playoffs, both may have a say on who does. That's because one of those teams usually wins a district match against a team advancing to the playoffs that may play a pivotal role in seedings.
Now the next challenge for the Lady Jackets is to continue to play at a highly consistent level. And that will ensure the blistering start to the season has the ending they all want.
