As the Bearden High School volleyball team has gotten deeper into their season, the hard work of the long preseason has begun to pay off. 

Over the course of the season so far, the team has been able to bond with each other in a way that gives them chemistry on and off the court. 

“I think that we’re all very, very close, and we have great chemistry on and off the court, which really, really helps whenever we go to games,” senior Jadyn Watkins said. “I also think that we all work very well together and we really want the best for each other, which really shows on the court.”

Bearden (2-4) travels to William Blount on Tuesday before hosting Maryville on Thursday.

Another advantage to this team being so close is that they can all rely on each other and have each other’s back, even in tough situations. 

“We’re all really tight and we all love each other,” junior Meghan Oros said. “We all get along super well, which is rare, amongst high school volleyball teams.”

Even with the strong leadership and bond between the team, Coaches Erin Biddle and Kaity Davidson have made contributions to the team’s chemistry as well.

With a strenuous preseason and a long regular season, the coaches have played a big role in encouraging the team to be better. 

“They’ve pushed us in the weight room and on and off the court just to be better people and better teammates towards each other,” Watkins said.

Preseason begins with tryouts, and then the team is posted. Summer workouts happen every weekday in June and July from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. These consist of workouts, weight lifting, drills, and touches on the ball. 

Once school starts, regular after school practice begins. A normal practice day starts off with a team huddle led by the captains and the seniors. Then, the team goes into a warm up with stretching, jump roping, and running, ball control, drills, and scrimmages.

The Bulldogs elect three captains for each team: two elected by the team and one chosen by the coaches. Varsity captains are Marissa McHammon, Oros, and Watkins. JV captains are Hannah Hunt, Celeste Urdal, and Emily Casteel.

The varsity team is looking to see big performances this season from all players, especially senior libero McHammon and outside hitter Alina Turowski.

“[Our goal is to] keep improving together and keep lifting each other up and staying united throughout the rest of the season while getting more dubs,” Oros said.