Brookhaven Tourney Recap

We had a very positive weekend up in Dallas on Friday and Saturday.  We started the weekend off against Trinity Valley.  They are a brand new program and between the two of us we had 3 sophomores.  Total.  The girls started off a little hesitant and passive.  I think was a combination of it being their first real college match (for most of them) and that we didn't know what to expect from TVC.  We lost the first game but the girls did a great job of adjusting their effort levels as well as following the adjustments the coaches made and we won our first match in 4 games!

Our second match on Friday was against Western Texas.  This was another team that had a brand new coach and system and we only had a little time to prepare.  This time the girls came out very focused and we won in 4.  Want to give a big shout out to Brittany Berry, who came off the bench when one of our middles sprained her ankle and did a great job.

After a great dinner at Pei Wei and a good nights sleep, we played Paris Saturday morning.  The girls were extremely prepared for this match.  They followed the scouting report to the letter and we jumped out to a 2-0 lead.  Unfortunately, did not close out Paris in game 3, and they beat us in 5.  This is a learning experience for our young team and they will get better.  We will also play some more "Choke or No Choke" in practice (the girls know exactly what drill this is).

Finally, we played the host team, Brookhaven.  I was a little concerned with how we would respond after a tough loss and we started out very slow and lost game 1.  Coach Loop and I decided to change the line up after game 1 to give us some more offensive firepower.  Taylor Jones came in at our L2 spot and a fantastic job, hitting .500 in games 2 and 3, which we won.  In game 4 it was tied 23-23 and we called a time-out.  We put an emphasis on denying Brookhaven the line shot and told our pin hitters to hit deep down the line.  Sure enough, we got a stuff block on their outside to give us match point, and then we got a transition kill down the line from Mariah Everitt to win the match!!

All in all it was a successful weekend.  I'm sure the girls would be the first to admit that there are a lot of areas we can improve in, but our effort level was very solid.  I can't wait to get back into the gym tomorrow and see us improve.  Our first home match is Wednesday at 6 pm.  Hope you can make it!

Here's a picture of our team outside our bus before our dinner at Chilis!  Yes, the sun is in our eyes.

Press Release

Below is the press release that was sent out today.  I'm letting you read it here first so we can start getting the word out on our team!

"Lady Rebels Look to Their Fountain of Youth For Success"

The 2010 Hill College Lady Rebel volleyball team not only has 12 new members, but also a new head coach. First-year Head Coach Jeremiah Tiffin takes the reins after two seasons as the program’s assistant coach.


Since joining the Lady Rebels in 2008, Tiffin has helped the team attain a 49-25 record while being responsible for team defense, technical training and setters’ coach.

Despite winning those 49 games over the last two seasons, however, the team has learned that it is the final match that is hardest to win. In 2008 and 2009, the team has lost the Region V North Championship to Temple College.

Lauren Ray of Hewitt is the only returning letterman from the 2009 season. As the libero, she was First team All-Region and 22nd nationally in digs per set. The other sophomore on the team is Prairie View A&M University transfer Sapphire Reid, a 5’9 outside hitter from Copperas Cove. Other key players to watch will be 6’2 Middle Blocker Ayve Alvarado from Fort Worth and Outside Hitter Mariah Everitt from Splendora.

“I cannot remember the last time I was so excited to get to work with a group of players as I am with this team,” Tiffin said. “We’ve got sophomore leadership in two key positions in Sapphire Reid at outside and Lauren Ray at libero who will both push our freshmen to perform at their best every day.”

Conference favorite, Temple College, will provide the toughest conference test for the Lady Rebels. Temple has won conference three years in a row and is ranked #10 in the nation.

After finishing the 2009 season with a perfect record at home, the 2010 schedule will have several challenging home matches: the home opener Sept. 1 against Eastfield College, and Sept. 23 against the 2008 NJCAA National Champs Blinn College. Important conference matches will be: Oct. 7 versus NCTC, Oct. 19 versus Temple and Oct. 28 against Ranger (sophomore night).

“I am truly excited to see what this team can do,” said Tiffin. “We cannot control what might happen, but we look forward to what will happen.”

For the complete 2010 Hill College volleyball schedule, visit our website at http://www.hillcollege.edu/athletics/.

Sophomores video

Here's a video of our two sophomores talking about the upcoming season and what they've experienced so far.  Lauren Ray is our only returning player and gives us leadership from having been through our season schedule once already.  Sapphire Reid is a transfer who will contribute for us right away.

Enjoy!

First scrimmage

Hill had their first scrimmage this past Friday at Brookhaven College.  They got a lot of playing experience under their belts, playing 6 intense matches against Brookhaven, Eastfield, Tyler, Paris and conference rivals North Central Texas.

The main goal of the day was to get our 11 freshmen introduced to the level of play they will see this year.  We can replicate it a lot in practice, but it's a different feeling in a new gym and against unfamiliar players.  I thought there were some positive improvements throughout the day and the girls should be prepared for our first real matches next weekend.  Our serve receive was very consistent, especially from our three defensive specialists, known as Lauren, Lauren and Lauran.  Yes all our DS's have the same name.  We also have 3 Taylors, though one is spelt differently and one is our trainer.  It makes practice interesting.  I've even started using middle names when I need their attention.

We've got some great chances over the next week to improve all areas of our game.  We just finished a great practice this morning where the girls saw themselves play on film, then made every goal in every drill I set for them.  I'm super excited for what lies ahead! 

Finally, I think the two highlights of the day were when both Sapphire Reid (OH) and Brittany Berry (MB) had 2 huge facials on great swings.  Our bench loved each one and, especially on Berry's, it gave us a lot of momentum.

Our first home game is Wednesday September 1 against Eastfield at 6 pm.  Hope you can come out and see us play!

Team Picture!

We took our team pictures yesterday.  I think they turned out well.  Here's our main team one with more to come...
Back row (L-R): Assistant Coach Kelsey Loop, Mariah Everitt, Sapphire Reid, Taylor Jones, Ayve Alvarado, Taelor Higgins, Brittany Berry, Head Coach Jeremiah Tiffin, student trainer Taylor Chandler.
Middle Row: Allyson Reed, Kaila Grissett, Shelby Watson, Haley Goldwater
Bottom Row: Lauren Ray, Lauren Myers, Lauran James

Picture of gym

Here's a picture of our home court, where we were undefeated last year!!

More pictures

Here's another picture of our weight room:

Welcome to the 2010 Hill College Volleyball Season!!!

To get you introduced to who we are, here's a picture of our weight room, which was just remodeled last year with brand new equipment by our Strength and Conditioning coach Aaron Baker.  Our girls love it and it has helped our teams a lot in past years.