With tournament season behind them, the Llano High School Lady Jackets are off to a great start, and others across the state have noticed.
The Lady Jackets' 13-5 record has them at No. 24 in the latest Class 3A poll of the Texas Girls Coaches Association.
Llano has two more non-district matches remaining before embarking on the District 5-3A trek against Brady Sept. 20.
They travel to Harper Friday, Sept. 13, and welcome Coleman Tuesday, Sept. 17, with the subvarsities playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow at 6:15 p.m.
"We're in a great spot," head coach Claire Head said. "I like the way our district schedule sets up."
Six weeks into the season, the Lady Jackets are adding more skills to the fundamentals they've developed under Head's direction since she took over the program in May 2023. A year ago, they were constantly working on the basics that included serve-receive and passing, court coverage, proper footwork and timing.
This season has been about making the more complicated simpler. That includes every player being comfortable with setting the ball, an important skill when the Lady Jackets are out of system.
Head refers to it as developing the complete volleyball player.
"I fully feel that's where we are," she said. "This year every one of our players can set the ball. We're working day in and day out that everyone has to be able to set and play out of system."
Llano's latest victory was against Marble Falls 25-17, 25-16, 25-18 Sept. 3. Senior hitter Amelia Robinson, who is regarded by most as being the best player in the gym, led the Lady Jackets with 28 kills.
"I thought Marble Falls played well in the first set against us," Head said. "I felt like we played well against them."
Head laughed when asked what it feels like to coach the best player on either roster.
"I always wanted to be able to coach a kid like Amelia," she said. "It's a lot of fun. It also comes with its challenges. Everyone we play knows she's that good, too."
I feel like it's going to make Amelia stronger."
No better recent example of that is the loss to Burnet in straight sets 23-25, 20-25, 13-25. Head pointed out the Lady Dawgs brought their entire front row to where Robinson was as soon as they saw the ball was set to the Lady Jacket. That's why the match against Burnet can be summed up in one word – revelation.
"We knew Burnet was going to be good," the coach said. "We had a great first set and the second set, we were close. In the third set, we gave up. We've been working on the mental part of the game. I feel we've grown a lot."
Head said the silver lining about the outcome is that it reinforced one of the fundamentals of most team sports – spreading out touches.
"Getting everyone involved and teaching our setters to see where the blockers are at," she said. "Our setters weren't looking to see we had other hitters."
Head said she enjoyed what she saw from her players against Brownwood where Llano won 25-21, 25-18, 25-12.
"I felt like we played a real solid match," she said. "Everything seemed to fit together in that game. We were able to see some players in different positions and get everybody on court. I think we're facing the adversity we need to face early on, and we're growing. I'm very positive about where we're at."
