Volleyball team opens against Kuna

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers open their 2005 volleyball season tomorrow (Thursday) night at Kuna.

Sarah DeVore moves up this year from coaching the sophomores to take the varsity job.

DeVore said they have had a great turnout for volleyball this year.

"We did! All three teams are represented well with some great athletes, and I'm really impressed with the girls we've got out this year!"

Two words sum up Coach DeVore's assessment of her varsity squad: "Raw athleticism."

"We've got six seniors returning, led by Erica Stanton. She's an amazing outside hitter, amazing leader on the court. We also have Dani Dean, a returning varsity junior, who will be in the middle and is just a strong offensive and strong middle blocker.

"She'll be a great presence on the court.

"Setting-wise, we're looking at a couple options there. We've pulled up a sophomore, Brandi Riggs, and she and Erica Stanton will share the duties until we can get Brandi going and adjusted to the varsity competitive level."

The Lady Tigers open their season tomorrow (Thursday) night at Kuna.

Coach DeVore is looking forward to getting the season under way.

"We're getting things ready and are excited to get that first match. We've been anticipating the season for a while, and it will be nice to finally get a match under our belts and see what areas we need to work on and things that we've been doing right."