BANGS – Colleen Westfall’s second stint as Bangs volleyball head coach begins with the Lady Dragons’ regular season opener at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Abilene TLCA.
Formerly the volleyball head coach at Howard Payne, Westfall previously coached Bangs during the 2012 and 2013 campaigns, leading the Lady Dragons to a 35-20 overall mark in that time. In her first season, the Lady Dragons posted a 14-12 record, finished second in the district and competed in the bi-district round of the playoffs. Westfall’s second season included a 21-8 record, outright district title and bi-district championship as well.
“It is very different for me having gone from here to Howard Payne and being at an extremely high level, then coming back to the high school level. I really had to adjust my mindset,” Westfall said. “After Howard Payne, I also got out of coaching all together for about a year and a half to two years, and now being back in it, there’s definitely been an adjustment on my end.”
The Lady Dragons are coming off a 15-14 record in 2023, third-place district finish and playoff appearance.
“This is an extremely talented group,” Westfall said. “They’re very athletic, they’re absorbing everything that I’m teaching them and it’s been pretty rapid fire so they’re doing a great job at that. They’re working extremely hard. You can tell that they want to learn and get better.”
Areas where Westfall hopes to see improvement include, “really getting to that higher level in our communication, and learning to adjust to a faster paced game. In order to do that, we need to improve their skill work just a little bit.”
Westfall expects the seniors to carry the load for Bangs this season. Kasey Solis, Ava Boren and Julianna Ethridge are among the upperclassmen, as is Neeley Bradley, who was also released from shoulder surgery on Monday, just in time for the start of the regular season.
Following Tuesday’s match with Abilene TLCA, the Lady Dragons will tangle with Brady, Dublin, Brownwood, Rochelle, Woodson, Ballinger, Snyder, and Bronte prior to the start of District 5-2A action. Bangs will also compete in the Veribest and Bronte tournaments, along with hosting the Heart of Texas Tournament in a joint venture with Brownwood Aug. 22-24.
“Before we get to district we really need to work a little bit better as a group,” Westfall said. “I’ve got a couple of freshmen pulled up and it’s a new group to work with each other, other than the seniors. Learning each other and my style of game is something we need to improve on. I like to run a very fast type of offense and I don’t think the girls are quite used to that yet, so I’m having to dial myself back.”
Looking ahead to the 5-2A schedule, the Lady Dragons will battle Hamilton, Hico, De Leon and Coleman for league supremacy.
“In order for us to really blow district out of the water and head deep into the playoffs those are the going to be the two key things, learning to play at the pace I want them to, which is faster, and learning each other so we can communicate and put the pieces of the puzzle together,” Westfall said. “I think we’ve got a great shot in district to come out first. I know some of the teams in the district, but the two I haven’t seen and no one has really been able to tell me about is Hico and Hamilton. Those two, I’m not sure what all they have but the other ones, I’ve seen what they’ve got from spring league and what other coaches have told me. But from what I’ve seen and heard we have a pretty good chance to pull out the top spot in district.”
As for the potential of the Lady Dragons in 2024, Westfall said, “They can go extremely far from what I saw at the scrimmages and what I’ve seen at practice, they can be a top tier team. The main thing it’s going to take is them consistently improving their game and choosing to pay attention to what I’m teaching and getting out of their comfort zone and pushing themselves. If they continue to do that throughout the season, they can go extremely deep in the playoffs.”
Bangs Lady Dragons 2024 Varsity Volleyball Schedule
| A13 | at Abilene TLCA | 5 p.m. |
| A16-17 | at Veribest tournament | TBA |
| A20 | Brady | 5 p.m. |
| A22-24 | Heart of Texas tournament | TBA |
| A27 | Dublin | 5 p.m. |
| A30-31 | at Bronte tournament | TBA |
| S3 | at Brownwood | 4:30 p.m. |
| S7 | at Brady | 10 a.m. |
| S10 | at Rochelle | 5 p.m. |
| S14 | Woodson | 10 a.m. |
| S17 | at Ballinger | 5 p.m. |
| S21 | Snyder | 10 a.m. |
| S24 | at Bronte | 5 p.m. |
| S28 | Coleman* | 10 a.m. |
| O1 | at Hico* | 5 p.m. |
| O5 | at De Leon* | 10 a.m. |
| O8 | Hamilton* | 4:30 p.m. |
| O12 | OPEN | |
| O15 | at Coleman* | 4:30 p.m. |
| O19 | Hico* | 4:30 p.m. |
| O22 | De Leon* | 4:30 p.m. |
| O25 | at Hamilton* | 4:30 p.m. |
| O29 | OPEN |
* District 5-2A Match