Volleyball team ‘solid in talent’

Scott Thomas
Contributing Writer

The lady T-Bird’s volleyball team is already riding rough waters into the beginning of the season. Key player Lauren Revered suffered a hand injury and will be out for at least a few more weeks. New coach Tricia Melfy is enthusiastic about this season despite the minor setbacks.
Besides injuries and coaching adjustments, the main obstacle may be getting the team to gel. The team has only two players returning from last year’s roster— Pami Rovey, and team captain Moni Tautu. There will be much pressure upon these two players. The coach is beaming with confidence over these two players’ ability to step up and be the emotional leaders that such a young team needs. While these players have only had one year of college competition under their belts, the remaining members of the team have no experience against college opponents.
Melfy admitted that right now the team is not where they should be, but her drive to restore the winning tradition that was once so characteristic of Thunderbird volleyball is unrelenting.
Freshman Hayden Johnson, defensive specialist and the star of the team according to Melfy, is the type of player who it is going to take to get this team back on the road to excellence.
Melfy is sure this team has the right attitude to win.
“We want to annoy other teams,” she said. Getting a mental edge over the opponent is key for the Thunderbirds. The team is solid in talent, but its mental toughness and scrappy attitude is what gives the team that nose ahead of the rest. That extra effort may be all this team needs to launch them into contention for the region title.
Two of her aspirations for the season include a better than .500 record along with finishing within the top three in the region. Both of these goals are very obtainable. The coach is most confident in achieving her third goal for the season: obtaining well-deserved recognition for her most capable players. She is positive that she has top-caliber players on her team who should make the all-region team.
Although there is no true rival to look out for on the schedule, Melfy said the team’s sense of pride is “unbelievable,” and that the team “bleeds Thunderbird.”
The team came out of the gates quickly by dominating South Mountain Community College in their first game with commanding scores of 30-19, 30-22, and finishing off the night with a 30-26 win. Although the next two games both ended in losses, Melfy has nothing but exciting things to say about the direction in which the program is going. With that kind of attitude being passed on through the rest of the team, she hopes it won’t be long before the Thunderbirds are back on top.

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