Macy at Middle

The Lady Mustang Volleyball team played their home opener on Tuesday, Aug, 22 against Maumelle. The team spent the summer in Fastangs and in practices preparing for their upcoming fall season. Head Coach Lynn Brown said the 2023 senior high volleyball roster puts the team in a unique position this year.

“We have so many girls who can play so many different positions,” she said. “We have some incredible talent this year that will allow us to customize our offense and defense to exactly what we need at any moment.”

The day before the first game, a twisted ankle in practice threw a wrench in Brown’s strategy for their Aug. 22 match. Brown quickly had to adjust her plans for Tuesday’s lineup.

“With one of our middle hitters/blockers out, we had to come up with a quick solution, and luckily, we were in a position to be able to make that adjustment and feel really good about it,” Brown said.

Senior outside hitter Macy Wall said she wondered who would fill in for that position, and hoped it wouldn’t be her.

“I feel like I’m a better outside hitter than middle hitter,” Wall said. “I feel like I can swing easier on the outside.”

Wall said she learned that she might be needed in the middle spot in the afternoon before the game started. She had a few minutes to practice during 8th period before the first games started, and she had to make a quick mental shift to doing the best for her team.

“In the whole first set, I got set twice, and both of them went out,” Wall said. “My mindset has always been that if it’s not a kill, it’s not good enough, which is not a good mindset to have. But I just had to think it’s not my position; it’s okay that I’m not doing the very best in the world.”

The Lady Mustangs won in three straight sets, and Coach Brown said the entire team did a good job adjusting to the change.

“Something people might not realize is that many teams practice all skills needed to play volleyball, but they also practice skills custom to the position they play,” Brown said. “Macy hadn’t practiced playing middle in three years, so her performance in the game was a giant shift for her and also for our whole team. I’m so proud of them and how they adjusted to a major shift in our lineup and took care of business.”