Volleyball ‘09 Underway

Coach Don Oliver (center) and last year’s District champs. After four days of practice, the Lady Bison volleyball teams tried out their skills in back-to-back play days over the weekend. Buffalo hosted Palestine and Crockett on Friday before joining Fairfield and Ferris in Teague on Saturday. While there are many areas for improvement, there is plenty of promise at all levels for the Lady Bison.

Head Coach Lori Shaw will be assisted this year by Daryl Skelton, Blake Porter, and Kyle Gleghorn. Gleghorn will head up the seventh grade program while Porter will perform double duty with eighth and ninth grade teams. Skelton will be in charge of the junior varsity squad once again.

Missing -- and greatly missed -- will be Coach Don Oliver, who passed away this weekend. “Coach Oliver was a big part of every one of these volleyball girls’ lives,” Lori Shaw shared. “He was one of their biggest fans, and when he was tough on them, it was because he wanted them to be the best they could be.” Many of the Lady Bison are planning to wear arm bands with their uniforms in memory of their former coach.

Six seniors return for their final season of play. Tristan Brewer, Kaila Grissett, Erica Jones, Meredith Shaw, Brooke Trahan and Desiree Worthy are ready to lead the Lady Bison to their best season yet. Juniors Jordyn Briscoe and Heather Sigert reported for duty as did sophomores Samantha Atkinson, Kelsey Canady, Courtney Drees, Hailey Ellison, Karlee Ferguson, Emily Grissett, Laken McCabe, Lindsey McGill, and Reagan Read. Tionna Adams, Kylan Armstrong, Kylen Ferguson, Katie Guyton, Ana Lopez, Raven Lott, Erin Trahan, Chelsea Varner and Hannah Wilson have been hard at work learning the advanced system employed at the high school level. Several others are awaiting physical clearance to join the team.

Buffalo struggled early against Palestine, but found their stride as time progressed. The Lady Bison fared well against Crockett, winning all five 25-point sessions played. Teague bothered the Lady Bison with tough serving, but the Buffalo benefited from the challenge. Fairfield provided a good match up for the Lady Bison and Ferris offered the additional challenge of a tall blocker.

“Each team we faced offered different challenges, so the weekend was extremely beneficial. It pointed out some areas to address, and highlighted some strengths on which to build,” said Shaw.

“The first week was great,” commented Coach Shaw. “The players have worked hard, and have maintained positive attitudes even when their muscles protested. I am very fortunate to have a group of experienced coaches to work with who are excited to be working with the Lady Bison throughout the year.”

Porter returns to coaching after several years away from education while Gleghorn returns after a one year absence. Both have coached every sport imaginable and bring vital knowledge to the program.

The Lady Bison will travel to Conroe Caney Creek on Tuesday for their first official match of the season. The varsity squad will join seventeen other schools for the Grapeland Tournament. Buffalo will play pool play on Friday at 12, 1 and 4 before bracket play on Saturday.