Lady Trojans' new coach looks to good year

The Troy High School volleyball team has a number of people returning, and several moving up this year, including the head coach.

Head Coach Jordan Graves has been an assistant coach, but this is her first year in the top spot, and looking out at her players at practice Tuesday, she was excited for their potential.

The Lady Trojans have had a strong turnout this year, and even the JV team has about a dozen players, she said.

“I think we're going to have a great season. I'm really excited,” Graves said. “The girls are working really hard and getting better each day.”

The team enjoyed good turnout for open gym this summer, and they have been setting a solid foundation, Graves said.

“We've had a lot of skill building and just really working on the fundamentals,” she said. “That was basically all we did, was just serving, passing, just the fundamental building blocks for the rest of the season.”

Most of both teams have some experience, with only a couple players completely new to the game. And though only four of the varsity team played full time varsity last year, all of the Lady Trojans have had some prior time in varsity games.

The team is also welcoming back Cami Finley in her senior year, after a year off from volleyball due to an injury.

“(Senior) Annie Day is returning as varsity setter, and she's really stepping up and being a leader, so we're really excited about that,” Graves said. “And we've just got some really strong middle hitters, and they're really working hard this season.”

Even among the players with less experience, Graves said she has seen commitment to working hard and continuing to improve.