Caleb Suggs

Hartselle Enquirer

Rebuild time? Don’t tell the Hartselle Lady Tigers volleyball team that. For a program that is used to finding itself in the state tournament at the end of the year each year, head coach Tanya Lybarger finds herself facing the most uncertainty she ever has in her tenure at Hartselle. However, instead of dwelling on what she has lost, Lybarger is focusing on the future and believes she has plenty of talent to fill the voids left.

Gone for the Lady Tigers this year are seven seniors from last year’s team. Megan Zuck was a four-year starter with over 3,000 career kills that now finds herself at Snead State. Gabrielle Bili was the team’s setter with over 1,500 career assists, she joins Zuck at Snead State. The Tigers also lose three of their middle players in Britni Bell, Jordan Finn and Hayden Hanserd. Bell was only at Hartselle for a year, but she made the most of that year as she turned it into a college offer from Faulkner University. Finn is also playing college ball, but she chose basketball instead of volleyball, and Hanserd opted to go the non-sports route and enrolled at Auburn. “Those three girls were all six foot or taller,” Lybarger said. “I don’t have anybody that tall this year.” Rounding out the departed seniors is Maggie Anderson, who was the team’s Libero, and Karly Alexander. “They were high quality players for sure, but I think that says a lot about our program to have that many go on to the next level,” Lybarger said. “Hopefully the girls now take that as a challenge to put themselves at the level that those girls are at and maybe even surpass them.”

Going into last season, Lybarger’s biggest strength was her team’s experience with seven seniors, but now it turns into a weakness, as she has no seniors this year. Still, Lybarger planned ahead last season and started working in some younger players as the season went on so she wouldn’t have all new faces this year. Lexie Smith and Abby Arias return as the two players with the most experience. Smith will be a right side and six-rotation player for the Tigers this year while Arias will serve as the team’s libero. “Lexie has done a good job of stepping up an being a good leader,” Lybarger said. “The same goes for Abby. So we have some experience coming back.” Lilyanna Cartee returns as the other player with experience. Cartee joined the team for their postseason run through state as an eighth grader and played extensive minutes. Cartee serves as a vital building block moving forward. Karmyn Key and Maggie Smith also return as players with some experience at the varsity level as they were moved up for postseason play last year. Key will replace Billi as the team’s setter and Smith will serve as an outside hitter. “Even though I didn’t know if I was going to get to use them much, just that experience in postseason was good for them,” Lybarger said. “It’s a completely different atmosphere in postseason and I wanted them to get to experience it some so I wouldn’t have a bunch of players that have never been there before,” Lybarger continued. “When you play behind those girls you don’t get a lot of playing time,” Lybarger said. “But they did a good job filling a role when they moved up and they’ve done a good job this offseason.”

New faces this year will include Heather Grimes, Jessica Jarrett, Ally Parker, McKenna Wright, Natalie Zuck Katrina Messinger, who has moved in from East Lawrence, Katie Harris and Hailey Holshouser. Positions for these girls haven’t been locked in yet as Lybarger is still moving them around, trying to find where they best fit.

“I have no seniors this year, which is a first for me, and I’m looking to play 2-3 freshmen, which is also a first,” Lybarger said. “There’s going to be a few bumps in the road, but I’m excited to see what these players become.”