Entering his first collegiate head coaching position, head volleyball coach Chris Laird said the primary goal for this year’s squad is to make it to the Southland Conference Tournament. In 2004, the Lady Colonels missed the conference tournament, losing their final regular season match to Sam Houston State University in a game that determined who would clinch the final spot in the postseason tournament.
One player who Laird will have back to help his team try to make it to the conference tournament this year will be junior middle blocker Atina Porter, a 2004 second team All-SLC and 2005 preseason All-SLC selection.
Porter led the Lady Colonels in kills, kills per game, total points and total attempts last season.
Although Porter is an important piece of the offense, Laird said her leadership is what has stood out so far.
“I think most of her improvement right now has been stepping into a great team leadership role,” Laird said. “She’s doing a great job bringing the girls together and leading by example on the court.”
Also returning this year is junior middle blocker KaLeigh Butler, a 2004 Honorable mention All-SLC selection. Butler led the team last year in total blocks, blocks per game, aces and aces per game.
In addition to the three freshmen on this year’s squad, sophomore defensive specialist/libero Ashley Leonard and sophomore setter Cassey Stacy, two transfers from Independence Community College in Independence, Kan., will join the fold. Both transfers are eligible for competition this season.
Laird said his team is still growing right now and even though some team chemistry has developed, it still needs to flourish more.
One thing Laird is not worried about is intensity.
“The intensity on the court is wonderful,” he said. “It’s very nice to not have to motivate them every second of the day. They’re really buying into what we’re trying to achieve.”
Porter said this year’s squad looks “more like a college volleyball team.”
“Last year we were scrappy,” Porter said. “No one really had a solid position. People filled in where they had to. (This year) we’re faster, doing more things efficiently as opposed to the scrappy volleyball team we were before.”
During this past offseason, the Lady Colonels 2003 SLC Championship was taken away while the team was also included in the NCAA’s investigation of Nicholls athletics because of their use of an ineligible player during the 2003 season.
Additionally, all wins during the 2003 season in which the ineligible student athlete participated in were taken away. Also, their head coach from the 2004 season and her replacement both resigned.
Porter said that all the team went through has helped them become a closer group.
“We’re all the same girls that went through the coaching change, and we were here with (2004 head volleyball coach) M.J. (Engstrom,) and we loved her,” Porter said. “We’ve become a family and become closer than we were.”
The Lady Colonels season begins tomorrow when they play Tulane University in a 7 p.m. match-up in the Tulane Tournament.
Other non-conference opponents the team plays in tournaments include: the University of Arkansas, Kansas State University, Utah State University, the University of Texas at El Paso, New Mexico State University and Troy University.
Arizona State University will make a trip to Thibodaux for a non-conference match with the Lady Colonels on Sept. 18.
Laird said that it is good that his team has the chance to play larger schools.
“It’ll give us an opportunity to use these big teams as benchmarks, checking what we do against what they do, and most importantly, it’ll give us a chance for our players to learn about themselves in a stressful, high intensity environment.”
Laird believes the SLC schools in Texas are strong but also believes the league has the ability to get better because of the the new coaches that are coming to the league.
Laird’s squad was picked to finish last in the conference race, but he doesn’t think that will happen.
“First we are shooting for the middle of the pack and then we are shooting for the 1,2, 3 slot.
