Rebels improving daily

Before practice each afternoon, the Vestavia Hills High School volleyball team is afforded what assistant coach Laura Lyle calls a “brain break.”

That time is very beneficial for players, as it gives them the time needed to decompress from a day of classes and flip the switch from school to volleyball.

It’s also when the Rebels must decide individually before practice starts if they’re willing to do what it takes to get better that given day.

“It’s going to be daily, gritty, hard and uncomfortable,” Vestavia Hills head coach Mandy Burgess said about the process of progress. “But the rewards we would reap later have the potential to be awesome.”

The high school volleyball season comes and goes quickly, and there is no time for a team to rest on its laurels. The season can conclude in less than two months for a team that fails to make it beyond its area tournament. Through the first month of the season, the Rebels had not reached their peak performance. But they will need to achieve that in the month of October in order to reach their goals.

At the start of October, Vestavia Hills will have just come off a match against Class 7A power Hoover and a run in the invite-only Over the Mountain Tournament. The Rebels conclude 7A, Area 6 play with matches against Mountain Brook (Oct. 1), John Carroll (Oct. 3) and Spain Park (Oct. 8).

They host Hueytown on Oct. 10 for Senior Night and will help Homewood host the annual Margaret Blalock Tournament Oct. 11-12. Vestavia Hills hosts 5A power Jasper on Oct. 15 and plays Oak Mountain on Oct. 17 to conclude the regular season.

Those area matches carry the most weight, in terms of crucial seeding for the area tournament. But Burgess said all of those matches will help the Rebels improve.

“It’s preparing for (area matches), but not making matches more important than that,” she said. “They’ve all got to matter the most or the emotions are going to take over and that’s what going to define and dictate what we do, and that can’t be the case.”

The area tournament is set for the week of Oct. 21, with the Rebels needing to be one of the top two finishers to advance to the super regional tournament later that week. The state tournament is held at the Birmingham CrossPlex the following week.

One pleasant surprise for the Rebels this season has been the play of freshman Savannah Gann — the younger sister of senior Maggie Gann — in the middle. She was slated to be a hitter on the right side or outside, but she has rotated in behind Sarah Beth Harris and given Vestavia Hills stability in that spot.

“That’s been cool to see,” Burgess said. “It’s cool to see that sisterly bond, because they’re very excited for one another and supportive of one another.”

It’s the final run for the Rebels’ six seniors — Ainsley Schultz, Anna Wood, Madison Smith, Hayden Garris, Maggie Gann and Harris — and Burgess wants to see them take advantage of this final push.

“We have to seize those opportunities to battle and leave your mark,” Burgess said.