The Lady Bulldogs opened the season with a six game winning streak. The team’s current record stands just above the .500 mark at 8-6 overall, going 1-2 so far in conference play.
“I love the way that they work,” said head volleyball coach Darrin McClure, who is starting his seventh season at Union.
One of this season’s shining stars is junior setter Jordan Vick. Recently she hit a couple of career milestones as she notched her 500th career dig and her 1500th career assist.
“We had a fast start,” Vick said. “Then we ran into a rocky patch that slowed us down a bit.”
One facet of the team that McClure implemented was a leadership council instead of a pair of captains. He used a personality test to have a representation of all different perspectives.
“It’s not always kids that play a ton,” McClure said. “That’s what I love about it because everybody has a voice and a say that adds value to our team.”
This year’s council consists of senior Haley Ramsey, junior Emily Grace Calhoon, Vick and sophomore Hannah Hampel. Collectively, this team has chemistry that is obvious when you go watch them play.
“I think that’s because we are so intentional with each other,” Vick said. “We have time set aside each week for each player to hang out and just get to better know each other. We just all genuinely care about each other like one big family.”
While the psychology of personalities is complex, the team’s philosophy and core values are simple. These core values are: 1. Faith in Christ. 2. Family. 3. Grit. 4. Gratitude. These values were adopted a couple seasons prior in McClure’s tenure.
Gratitude has been the main focus of the squad so far this season. Last season the team did not have a regular season due to Covid, playing only eight spring games.
“We were just thankful to get those,” McClure said.
Looking forward into this season, McClure expressed that he was not quite sure exactly how the team would be. He had a feeling that they just might be something really special.
“I knew coming in that this class had a chance to be one of my best classes,” McClure said. “I’m excited about where this team has the potential to go.”
The Lady Bulldogs’ next match is on Oct. 1st at 7:00 p.m. in the Fred DeLay Gymnasium against the University of West Georgia.
Photo Credit UUAthetics