Lady Panthers junior calls last year’s record ‘unacceptable’

The Colleyville Heritage volleyball team’s season in 2015 can be viewed in two different ways.

First, there is the fact that the Lady Panthers went 7-5 in district competition and advanced to the area round of the playoffs, defeating South Grand Prairie in the bi-district round.

The second way is look at the overall record of 20-24 and 9-16 mark in road games, which is something that junior OH/S Lauren Evans said is unacceptable.

“Last season was very disappointing, ending with a losing record (while) knowing that we had a lot of talent. It was a positive that we made it to the second round of the playoffs,” Evans said. “Overall, we all overcame adversity with most players playing out of position, but our new team is putting last season in the past, and we are all so excited (about) this new season.”

A first team all-district selection in just her sophomore year in 2015, Evans has put her offseason to good use and worked hard on improving her game in a couple of different areas.

“This past summer, I really worked on increasing my vertical and focusing on serve/receive,” Evans said. “I have been working with Elite Fitness for almost two years, but really started vertical training this summer and have already increased my vertical by five inches.”

Evans is also a member of the student council at Colleyville Heritage, as well as an organization called Redefining Beautiful, which encourages girls to forgo makeup at least once a week.

The Lady Panthers have moved down a classification (to Class 5A) this season and should be one of the contenders for a district championship.

In order to have a successful season in 2016 and move beyond the second round of the postseason, Evans said it will take a couple of things.

“We really need to buy in to what ever coach Groth tells us,” Evans said. “We are all aware that she knows what it takes to win state, as she has done it as a player and as a coach. Our strongest asset as a team is defense, and I believe that will make us successful this season.”

This story was originally published August 23, 2016 at 12:18 PM with the headline "Lady Panthers junior calls last year’s record ‘unacceptable’."