Faith Academy volleyball unveils positives from offseason

CAPTION: Bosley Kuker is catching the attention of opposing coaches, who say the Lady Flame is improving from where she was a year ago. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls volleyball team showed what it has been doing the last several months during the Marble Falls May League May 6.

The Lady Flames, under the guidance of head coach Erin Sawyer, have been getting stronger and quicker thanks to a commitment to participating in an offseason program that challenges them physically.

“We’ve been really working really hard,” she said. “We started the offseason in January. We started doing agility and pyrometrics and lifting weights. Once basketball was done, we got in the gym for two hours.”

In addition, the Lady Flames have been playing on a club team and Sawyer created a Hill Country Aces squad out of 10 Lady Flames to compete in 17-and-under age divisions. The Hill Country Aces are Sawyer’s club program.

And the coach likes what she’s seeing from them.

“They’re playing better, they’re playing smarter,” she said. “They’re playing more cohesively. I lost five seniors. With my upcoming seniors, I have a good number of returners. The girls want to be there. It will grow and be different from last year.”

Top of the list of players poised for a great season in the fall are Jillian Martin and Abby Blackington and libero Bosley Kuker. Sawyer noted that Avalynn Eppler, who played last year, caught the attention of an opposing coach, who complimented the Lady Flame.

“Last year was the first time she played,” Sawyer said. “This year (that) coach said she improved so much. I think they’re getting better at anticipating and reading the hitters. I also see some of the things we need to work on.”

Among those tasks include serve-receive, which starts the offense.

“We still get the deer in the headlights,” Sawyer said. “They trust one another to do their jobs. They trust nothing can stop them. Their team camaraderie will increase from last year to this year.”

Faith will compete in a new district this year. District 4-3A members are Temple Central Texas Christian, San Antonio Keystone, Waco Live Oak, San Antonio Lutheran, Austin San Juan Diego and San Marcos Academy.

“It will grow and be different from last year,” Sawyer said. “They are hungry. Our district has changed a little bit. I think they’re excited to be apart of the new district. Our district last year was extremely hard with (state tournament teams) Round Rock Christian and (Bryan) Brazos.”

The coach noted the Lady Flames are using the offseason to their advantage, and she believes it will pay off.

“I’m excited about the hard work my girls are starting to put in,” she said. “We have the summer. It makes me excited and happy to see the girls put in the work. (My players) know all the hard work they’re doing isn’t for nothing. They’re improving, they’re putting in the effort. They want to do more and there for each other. With the girls playing more, it makes me excited for next season.”

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