Holtville volleyball will have a new coach on the court this season
Coach Rachel Holley has taught at Holtville for the last few years, also acting as a bookkeeper for the team. This year, she’s taking on a new role and far more responsibility.
Holley is the fourth volleyball coach at Holtville in the last four years, but that has not deterred this team from working hard to get better this summer.
“The great thing about this group of girls is that they are so eager to learn,” said Holley. “They are just little sponges. Everything I tell them to do, they do it wholeheartedly. So I have a really good feeling about this season.”
Holtville had a tough go last season, finishing the season with a record of 1-12. While it is too early to definitively say the team will do better this season, the team has plenty of great athletes who will contribute on the court no matter the outcome.
Holley will be looking to senior right side hitter Emma Crawley for leadership this season.
“Emma is going to end up leading us,” Holley said. “She just has an overall great personality. You can tell she’s a born leader, the girls just look to her. The good thing about this group of girls is that they all depend on each other, they all look to each other (for support).”
Hailey Phelps, a sophomore multisport athlete for the Bulldogs, will be another major asset on the volleyball court this season at middle blocker.
The team traveled to the ACE Volleyball camp last week in Pensacola, Florida hosted by the coaching staff at the University of Western Florida. It was the first time the team has traveled to a camp. The experience at the camp was a great learning experience for the team, as well as their first-year coach.
“I’m just looking forward to the season getting started,” said Holley. “And seeing where the girls take it this year. I mean, coming off of camp, they’re fired up, I’m fired up. I think they’re ready for our first game right now. They’re like, ‘Can we play?’”
The Bulldogs volleyball team is rearing to go this season, they’re prepared to prove to themselves and the community that they are a team to watch this season.
