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The Lady Cards’ volleyball team is coming off of a deep postseason run to the state semifinals, their second deep playoff run in a row. With many players returning after competing in both playoff runs, the Lady Cards have a battle- tested group that are hoping to finally reach the Finals after falling just short to the eventual state champions in both years; first against Bushland and then against Gunter last season. Ironically, those two teams have met each other in the State Championship game in each of those seasons. Columbus is hoping to have a big season to prevent a thirdstraight matchup between Gunter and Bushland and potentially secure the Lady Cards’ first state championship.
The Lady Cards have several returning players and upperclassmen who should prove to be strong leaders for the team. Head Coach Kayley Johns is the captain of the ship, leading the Lady Cards to several deep postseason runs throughout her decorated tenure as the coach of the team. Her emphasis on the players and the team is likely what inspires her players to compete at such a high level while also inspiring them to stay focused on the task at hand. She establishes a culture of mutual care amongst the team members as they focus on staying together.
“The team’s mindset is focused, excited, hungry and determined to get back to state,” Johns said, “The deep playoff runs have made these girls grow as a team, both on and off the court. They all push each other hard and want what’s best for the team and each other. They know the expectations and they have set high expectations for themselves.”
The expectations have never been higher for the Lady Cards as among their ranks are several All-District and All-State players who have contributed a lot to Columbus’ successful seasons. Players like Sage Thomas, Ally Tribe and Ember Mandola have been big parts of the Columbus gameplan in each of their semifinal runs. Despite having many top players on the roster, the Lady Cards have refused to become satisfied with where they are at, imploring themselves to get “one percent better” every day of practice. The main principle is that focusing on the day-to-day improvement while treating every rep like the championship game is how Columbus will eventually reach their goal of appearing in the season’s final game.
While there are many things the Lady Cards do exceptionally well, they are still looking to make their improvement in some different areas that may potentially give them an advantage against other high-quality opponents.
“We will continue to work on creating more offense, but also continue to be very defensive minded,” Coach Johns said.
Despite having a great season last year, the Lady Cards are not satisfied as the drive and desire for a championship has heightened after getting so close in the playoffs. If Columbus can repeat their performance from last season while continuing to improve, it would not be unreasonable to believe that the team can have a similar level of success this season.
