Heritage Christian Academy will leaning heavily on the play of a solid group of sophomores and juniors as it looks to reach the Region 2 tournament for the first time in program history.
Head Coach Grace Waldron said she has a solid team that already has shown during preseason workouts a great improvement over last year when the Lady Warriors went 12-19 and were defeated by Christian County in the District 8 semifinals.
“I like their attitude, they communicate really well with each other and I like their scrappiness,” Waldron said. “They are really scrappy, they work hard and they’re always trying to learn and get better.”
The Lady Warriors return only one senior, Mya Goodwin, who will be an outside hitter.
However, juniors Katie Cansler, Charity Chambers, and Lexi Lyon will join sophomores Bralee Fowler and Makenzi McCarty to provide some experience.
“Katie will be our captain this year and Bralee and Makenzi will really help us at the middle blocker/hitter and setter positions,” Waldron said. “Charity and Lexi probably won’t start, but they will important to us as a setter and on the right side hitter position.”
A talented freshman class could be the key for the Lady Warriors in 2024.
Allison Craft and Harley Sparks will share the Libero duties and Hadlee Hayes and Grace Conley will provide help in the middle. Taylor Barbee also is expected to bolster the defense.
“I like their effort so far in the preseason,” Waldron said. “We’ve been working on our coverage and I’m pretty confident in what I’ve seen so far.”
HCA will continue to participate in some Kentucky Christian Athletic Conference games, including the KCAC State Tournament in a couple of weeks. But her team also is focused on making a run at the District 8 championship, although she said when it comes to this district, anything could happen.
“It’s just who is on their game that day,” Waldron said. “We’re bringing a lot of girls back and a lot of others graduated a lot, but there are some really good coaches in this district and they will coach their girls up. This district should be tough.”