The Harding University women\u2019s volleyball team was named the 2017 Great American Conference (GAC) preseason favorite. The Lady Bisons ended last season with a 21-8 record. They also finished with a 12-4 record in GAC play, winning the regular season tournament. Coming off a high from last season, the team is determined not to let this title get to their heads.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to go in over-confident, cocky, arrogant or anything like that,\u201d head coach Meredith Fear said. \u201cJust because you\u2019re voted for preseason doesn\u2019t mean anything if you can\u2019t go and back it up,\u201d<\/p>\n
After winning the regular season tournament last year, it will be hard to want to share that honor with anyone else, according to Junior middle blocker Zoe Hardin<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely think we have the potential to win, and what I\u2019m mainly focused on is, after conference season, pushing through and getting a bid to the NCAA tournament,\u201d Hardin said.<\/p>\n
There are six incoming freshmen this season, and due to the large number of new players, the team as a whole has made an extra effort to create a strong dynamic.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir integration off the court, I feel, has been pretty seamless. A lot of times when you have a big group of freshmen they are nervous and scared, so it\u2019s like a little group of freshmen and then everyone else,\u201d Fear said. \u201cThey have done a really good job of just jumping in with both feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the junior class becomes upperclassmen, there is a new sense of leadership and responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have a big class like that and you\u2019re reliant on them, you hopefully see progression every year through their four years. Fear said. \u201cSo hopefully we will see some of their hard work through the first two years come to fruition,\u201d \u201cAnd then starting all over again with this new group of freshmen. It\u2019s a good balance of experience and some newness at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team is eager to start their season and continue to work hard and improve their skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow my class and the seniors have a responsibility to take care of them and show them how we do things not necessarily tell them, but show them on and off the court,\u201d Hardin said.<\/p>\n
Freshman Lindi Perkins is looking forward to getting to know the women better.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the upperclassmen have really made known to the freshmen that they have all been through this transitional phase, and if we need anything to just let them know,\u201d Perkins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to play with this new group. We have been scrimmaging and practicing, but it\u2019s kind of a different dynamic than we had last year and even my freshman year, so it is going to be fun to see who steps up and what roles are filled,\u201d Hardin said.<\/p>\n
The first conference home game is Sept. 12 against Henderson State University at 6 pm.<\/p>\n
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