The 91制片 program is starting its third season, but first in the National Junior College Athletic Association. The Gators鈥 coach and players are embracing being a part of history.
鈥淥ur coach today had a talk with us about starting a legacy,鈥 Ashleigh Yost, one of two returning players, said Thursday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely exciting to step into those shoes knowing you鈥檙e the first. I feel like every girl here wants to leave their mark.鈥
That will start Wednesday, Aug. 28, when the Gators open the season at home against Bryant & Stratton.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a stronger team than we were last year,鈥 said coach Tommy Thomas, who led the Gators to a 3-4 record and a third-place finish in the New South Athletic Conference tournament in 2023, his first at the helm.
Yost, a 5-11 outside hitter from Smithfield, agreed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e already better this year, and we just started, than we were last year,鈥 she said.
She attributes that to having more hitters than last year when their strength was back row and defense. She also thinks this year鈥檚 players are more well-rounded. They have a new setter, Berkeley Stenges, who was an all-state player for Thomas at Peninsula Catholic, and strong hitters in Yost and Kingsleigh Guinn (Kecoughtan High School).
Three of their hitters are listed at 5-11, with two more at 5-9.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not only the height and the experience, but it鈥檚 the want to win,鈥 Yost said. 鈥淲e have a lot of want in this team, and we鈥檙e definitely going to come after a bunch of (opponents) this season.鈥
With fewer than 10 players on the roster, they are being asked to do more than they did in high school. Yost said most of their hitters were subbed out in high school for defensive specialists when it came time for them to rotate to the back row.
鈥淯nfortunately, we don鈥檛 have that luxury, seeing that we don鈥檛 have many girls,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ack-row passing, it鈥檚 unfamiliar to me. So, it鈥檚 definitely something that I have to grow to get better. I feel like it goes for almost all of our hitters, but it鈥檚 already gotten better.
The Gators are no longer in the NSAC. Instead, they are in Region 10 and will have a much tougher schedule.
鈥淲e have four teams that have won a national championship that we鈥檙e playing. That鈥檚 how strong our schedule is,鈥 Thomas said.
Opponents this season, other than Bryant & Stratton, include Richard Bland, which won the NJCAA Division II national title in 2022, Cheyney University, and Southwest Virginia Community College. There is a good mix of dual matches and tri-matches, with 23 matches on the schedule, a significant increase from last year. Thomas doesn鈥檛 think that will have a negative impact.
鈥淢ost of these kids have played club ball. They鈥檙e used to it,鈥 he said of a long season.
Yost prefers a full schedule.
鈥淚 think that it鈥檚 a very good number,鈥 she said, noting she鈥檚 been trying to prepare her teammates for the grind.
鈥淧laying in a game, I tell my teammates all the time, is nothing like practice,鈥 she said. 鈥淵ou have people watching. You have to play at your best in that moment. There鈥檚 no room for error in that moment, as opposed to practice. I think we鈥檙e all pretty pumped up to have all these games coming up.鈥
Yost said consistency will be a key to success but said they have been working hard in the gym, and she likes what she sees so far. If they can continue to improve, she expects a successful season.
鈥淭he main goal here is to get our foot in the door for this legacy,鈥 Yost said.
Following Wednesday鈥檚 season opener, the Gators follow it with two more home matches: Friday, Aug. 31 against Patrick & Henry Community College at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 3 against Mid-Atlantic Christian University, also at 6 p.m.
