Statesboro Volleyball kicks off 24-25 season with split wins

Statesboro volleyball is looking capitalize off an Elite Eight season last year.

Destiny Hartwell

The Statesboro Lady Blue Devil Volleyball Team split wins in the first match of the 2024 season at home. They lost to Bridges Prep South Carolina 2-1 in three sets and defeated Calvary Day 2-0 in two sets.

This new group of Lady Blue Devils have some big shoes to fill after losing six seniors last season, and with five seniors graduating this upcoming season, the Lady Blue Devils are a mostly young and new team trying to put together a team that can compete well into another postseason.

Bridges Prep SC

For only having one practice, the Lady Blue Devils started out really strong only having to work out a few kinks. Most of Bridges Prep’s points came off Blue Devil mistakes, but that didn’t stop the Lady Blue Devils from winning game one 25-23.

In game two, the Lady Blue Devils struggled with connecting their passes in serve/recieve which allowed Bridges Prep to quickly finish Game two with a 25-13 win.

The Lady Blue Devils just couldn’t seem to shake off that game 2 feeling because they just seemed to be in a rut to finish out that game to lose the last set 15-4.

Calvary Day

Having a break seemed to do wonders for the Lady Blue Devils as they came into the second match against Calvary Day looking more like a team that competed in the Elite Eight last season.

The Lady Blue Devils started off on a roll and never stopped going on a 10-3 run from the first serve. Give or take a few serving mistakes, the Blue Devils closed out that match winning 25-17.

In game two, the Blue Devils started to step off the gas a little allowing the Cavaliers to get ahead 16-11. After a couple missed serves and bad passes, the Cavaliers had the Blue Devils on the ropes about to send this match into a third set, winning the match, 24-16.

Only needing one point to close out the match, the Cavaliers seemed very laxed which allowed the Lady Blue Devils to flip on a switch and fight back from a 24-16 deficit and win the match 27-25 in two games.

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Head Coach Bob Massee was not upset with how his team performed for only having one practice.

“For the most part they just have to get settled in and comfortable with each other,” Massee said. “What I saw was miscommunication on serve receive balls, not seeing the ball fast enough, not knowing whose balls is it: mine or yours, but that’s a learning thing that we haven't even worked on yet.”

He understands that his team is mostly freshman and sophomores so he’s going to have to be patient and allow them to grow, develop and fellowship with each other to become a team that is an Elite Eight contender and go hopefully farther than no other team has in school history.

The Lady Blue Devils will be back in action on Thursday, August 15, as they travel to Grovetown to take on the Lady Warriors and the Lakeside Lady Panthers.