Sports Editor
Rivercrest volleyball head coach Sara Beth Upchurch is proving the adage of many happy returns.
The Lady Rebels won her coaching debut earlier in August and Coach Upchurch, who previously coached at Rivercrest before a stint at North Lamar, is coaching several girls she coached in junior high who are now seniors.
Coach Upchurch said the win was a great start to an ambitious schedule that will see the Lady Rebels take on at least six schools from larger classifications and take part in three early season tournaments.
“I always play bigger teams; I’m not about record, I’m about us getting better,” she said. “It helps to play bigger teams so when we get into the playoffs, nothing is a surprise. We want to play bigger teams and keep working on things like serving and receiving to see what we can do. I feel like our team is going to be a defensive-minded team and the way we’re scheduling games works in our favor to prepare us.”
Despite being part of a four-team district, assuring them of a playoff berth, Coach Upchurch said that isn’t the team’s final goal, a thought process aided by the team’s seniors: Vivian Hines, Logan Huddleston, Abigail Scott and Kynzie Franks.
“The goal is not just to go to the playoffs,” she said. “Our number one goal is to win the district. The seniors have made it known that they want to win a couple of playoff games and see how far we can go.
“I coached most of the seniors when they started playing in junior high, so they’re a very special group. They’ve bought into what I’m doing and it’s made everyone follow suit. I look forward to them teaching our younger kids how to come in and be ready to work in the years to come.”
The Lady Rebels finished second in district play last year and will be among the favorites in their four-team district, which includes defending district champions Detroit, Clarksville and Harts Bluff.