Balance and blocking keys for Nevada volleyball

Head coach Kori Dodson and the Nevada High School volleyball team huddle up before a scrimmage at the Carthage jamboree earlier this week.

Photo by Hank Layton | Daily Mail Sports Reporter

Nevada High School head volleyball coach Kori Dodson wanted her team to be more competitive this year, so from the first day of practice she and her coaching staff started instituting more drills.

The goal, even during conditioning: to get the girls’ intensity up and keep it there — a strategy Dodson is confident will pay off after the first month of matches.

“I have no doubt that we should have a winning record by mid-season,” said Dodson, whose team finished 8-18 last season but had nearly 30 players join the cause this fall. “I’ve been very pleased. They have really brought the intensity that I’ve been wanting to see and expected.”

One thing that certainly helps energize the team is having several hitters who can spike the air out of the ball.

Junior Trinity Gayman and sophomore Delaney Hope have impressed so far in the middle, while juniors Emma Leisure and Abbey Heathman have stepped up their game on the outside.

Senior leadership has also helped fuel Nevada’s early momentum, led by Taylor Thompson and Macy Cussimanio at the net, libero Grace Barnes, and setter Jade Feller.

“Our strength is our diversity in the front row and our movement offensively,” Feller said.

According to Gayman, chemistry has been key.

“We want to be the best that we can be and to communicate and bond together,” she said. “Our strength is offense, and we struggle a little bit with defense, but we should improve in both areas.”