The Lake Oconee Academy volleyball program held an all-day camp this week.
The camp consists of multiple drills being taught to better develop aspects of the game such as serving, setting and spiking.
Around 50 girls between sixth and 12th grade have been attending every session, and head coach Chris Ingle hopes the work they are putting in now will pay off when the Lady Titans start their new area schedule.
“We will be in a new area this year, so we’ll be playing some new teams and not have to travel to the mountains as much anymore,” Ingle said. “We’ll still play some of those teams because it was good competition, but we’ve got high goals again with several key players back.”
The Lady Titans ended last year with an 18-15 record. This earned them third in their area heading into the GHSA Class A-Public state tournament where they were eventually knocked out by Lovett.
The team was anchored by senior captains Sarah Grace Ingle and Charlee Scheller. Ingle led the Lady Titans in aces and kills while Scheller led the team in assists.
However, Ingle has already acknowledged other players stepping up in the absence of their two experienced graduates.
“We still expect great things. Lea Eley is going to be our outside hitter, and she has worked, along with the rest of the team, over the off season,” Ingle said. “She’s gotten stronger and improved her vertical jump, so we expect really big things from her.”
Ingle also touched on the fact that a couple of the younger girls are coming into their own as well.
“We’ll actually have two freshmen on the varsity team that we have real high expectations for,” Ingle said. “Chloe Manville has kind of come forward as our vocal leader on the court as well.”
As a program, the Lady Titans have always been competitive on the court, and Ingle believes that should continue regardless of their opponents next year.