Going into this year’s season, Bridgeport High School Volleyball Coach Ali Burton said with all her starters back from last season – when her team advanced all the way to state semifinals – the Lady Indians not only had skill, but flexibility.

 

“We have a lot of girls who are able to play multiple positions, so we’re really going to try to piece the puzzle together to get everyone in the right spot and find our best team chemistry,” said Burton just before this year’s competitive play got under way.

 

Twenty-nine matches into the season, the Tribe seems to have found that chemistry. To date, the Lady Indians have 22 wins to their credit, four losses and a trio of ties.

 

“They’re doing a nice job. We put them in different positions and they play the roles we ask them to play,” Burton said. “They are communicating, but there have been a couple lapses in communicating with one another and when we do that, we notice losses. Overall, they are working hard and want to be back in Charleston in November.”

 

Kristen Crowder leads the team in kills, Payton Hefner in assists and Shea Hefner in digs, but seven to 12 Lady Indians contribute to each match. The schedule has been a tough one, Burton said. The Tribe has played several Class AAA teams, many resulting in victories. There has also been an early-season win over Class AA Philip Barbour, the team that knocked BHS out of the state tournament two years in a row.

 

But there are plenty of quality teams ahead.

 

Today, the Indians travel to Robert C. Byrd High School to participate in Volley for the Cure, a breast cancer fundraiser, with Buckhannon Upshur and Liberty high schools. Saturday, the Tribe takes on Greenbrier East and Philip-Barbour in a home tri-match which begins at 10 a.m.

 

Editor's Note: Photos are by Ben Queen Photography.