Jim Smoot is strengthening the Lady Lions volleyball team for the upcoming season this fall, in what will be his second season as head coach. Despite losing three seniors, Smoot is confident his squad will make an impact in the Southland Conference. 

Last season provided mixed results for the Lady Lions. Despite battling to a 4-14 record in conference play, Southeastern showed signs of promise throughout the season. The Lady Lions went undefeated in the Tangi Tourism Lion Classic and brought the championship home to Hammond for the second consecutive year. 

“Our main goal this year is to make the conference tournament,” said Smoot. “That’s a very realistic goal for us and we will be shooting for it all this season.”

Although the first match is not scheduled until late August, the Lady Lions have been hard at work to reach their full potential.

“Offseason has been really good. We trained at six in the morning, four days a week,” said Smoot. “I think everybody showed a lot of improvement, and in the spring we look to improve individual skills so that when we enter our preseason we can put that improvement into effect with our team concepts.”

The Lady Lions were a relatively young team last year, with only three seniors on the roster. This year features returning talent such as setter Mikalya Shippy and middle blocker Rachael Bunn, both of whom tied the team high for matches started. Also coming back this season is defensive specialist Brook Balser, who led the team in sets played with 114. 

Joining the seasoned squad are two incoming freshmen: Kacey Freeman of Mandeville and Sarah Friedman out of Houston, Texas. Smoot is fond of his new athletes and believes they will make a positive impact this season.

“Sarah is a 6’4 outside hitter, so we expect her to provide some more firepower in the front row,” said Smoot. “Kacey will be a back row specialist, which will help our defense.”

The season begins with the Green and Gold scrimmage Aug. 26. Southeastern is scheduled to compete in several tournaments this season, the first being the 2014 UAB Volleyball Tournament, which is set to kick off Aug. 29.

Smoot and the team will be grateful for student support.

“I think the Lion nation will be really pleased when they come watch us play,” said Smoot. “We are going to take a big step forward, and we have a lot of talented girls. We need everybody to come on out, especially if you’ve never been to one of the matches before.”