BANGS – In 2019, Lady Dragons head coach Cheyanne Lovelady guided the Bangs volleyball program to the playoffs, ending a lengthy postseason drought, in her first year back at her alma mater. Lovelady is looking to build on that success, but a revamped district could make the road back to the postseason tougher than originally expected.

The Lady Dragons — who finished with a 10-21 overall record last year, including a 3-7 district mark that resulted in a fourth-place finish – are in the brand new District 8-3A this season along with archrival Early, Millsap, Peaster, Comanche, Dublin, Brock, and Eastland.

“When I first heard about it I was little shocked because we got in a bigger district and a tougher district,” Lovelady said. “We were finally at a place where I felt we could do well in our old district and then it became harder. That’s one of the challenges these girls are going to step up and face this year. But I’m excited about this district, it’ll be more challenging but this will teach the girls a lot of things and it will push us further.”

Before the Lady Dragons start to worry about district play, the pre-district slate awaits – beginning with Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. opener at Coleman. In a limited early schedule created due to the UIL’s COVID-19 guidelines, the Lady Dragons will also tangle with Albany, Junction, Evant, Hawley, Miles, Lingleville and Jim Ned in pre-district action.

“It’s hard not having a tournament season, it’s going to be very different this season,” Lovelady said. “I wasn’t able to fill all the dates but I did get several different matches from larger schools and smaller schools. I’m hoping against some of the smaller schools we can get some confidence and have a positive, winning preseason.”

Among the major focuses for Lovelady has been the mental aspect of the game, and the new league will test the Lady Dragons in that regard.

“I’m looking for us to build on our mental toughness and consistency,” Lovelady said. “The girls work really, really hard but sometimes they’re not confident and not mentally tough so when they get into a battle or a situation where they feel like they can’t win they shut down. Teaching the girls how to believe in themselves and each other and be mentally strong is my goal.”

The Lady Dragons return a veteran roster which includes seven seniors. Among the players to watch are libero Skylar Hutchins, setter Halle Lance and middle blocker Maggie Morales.

“Skylar, my libero, is the meat of our team. She’s loud and this will be her third or fourth year on varsity,” Lovelady said. “Halle is our senior setter and I’m super thankful she’s returning. And Maggie was our blocker of the year last year in district so we’re super stoked to have her back, she’ll only be a junior. We also have five defensive specialists on varsity so we have a strong defensive line.”

District 8-3A action begins at home against Millsap on Sept. 8. In terms of what it will take for the Lady Dragons to make another playoff push this season, Lovelady said, “These girls have a lot of potential, We have a lot of seniors and a lot of girls that have been on the court for a while. We’re lacking on hitters on the front row on offense, but if we can just be consistent, have every person on the team hit the ball no matter what, and have really good serving and a great defensive line I think we can be super successful.”

Bangs Varsity Volleyball Schedule

Aug. 11 at Coleman 6:30 p.m.

Aug. 14 Albany 6:30 p.m.

Aug. 15 at Junction 1 p.m.

Aug. 21 Evant 6:30 p.m.

Aug. 22 at Hawley 11 a.m.

Aug. 29 at Miles TBD

Sept. 1 at Lingleville 6 p.m.

Sept. 5 Jim Ned Noon

Sept. 8 Millsap* 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 12 Peaster* Noon

Sept. 15 at Comanche* 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 19 at Dublin Noon

Sept. 22 Early* 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 26 Brock* Noon

Sept. 29 at Eastland* 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Millsap* Noon

Oct. 6 at Peaster* 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 10 Comanche* Noon

Oct. 13 Dublin* 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Early* Noon

Oct. 20 at Brock* 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 Eastland* Noon

* District 8-3A Match