Young Roster Won’t Alter Lofty Volleyball Goals for Lady Scots

Amid all the disappointment that came with a stunning loss in the third round of the Class 6A volleyball playoffs last season, Highland Park also gained some valuable lessons.

That four-set defeat against Denton Guyer ended a stellar 42-3 campaign on a sour note for the Lady Scots. But as the team prepares for a new season in 2023, the dismay has turned into motivation.

“You always want to learn from everything you do, negative or positive. We took a hard look at the whole situation and had some very emotional and honest discussions about what went wrong,” said longtime HP head coach Michael Dearman. “It’s not something we swept under the rug.”

In particular, returning players reiterated to Dearman during offseason leadership training their eagerness to move forward and make improvements.

“We won’t dwell on the negative, but we’ll be constructing our practices and everything else to address those issues,” Dearman said. “It’s been a really great offseason — a lot of progress physically and mentally.”

HP graduated a terrific senior class that included several top college recruits. However, that didn’t leave the roster devoid of talent and experience — quite the opposite.

“We graduated more talent in one class than I can ever remember,” Dearman said. “So many of those players were on our varsity team since they were freshmen, and they were really close friends.”

Four returnees — Bella Ocampo, Harper Hall, Sadie Gruber, and Alex Richter (a Georgia commit) — have played vital roles at the varsity level for the past two seasons.

“That’s a lot of experience,” Dearman said. “These were key members of last year’s team who contributed a lot to our success. That’s a good thing to have.”

HP’s sophomore class includes a handful of players who will step into the spotlight this season, including Brooklyn Bailey, Tiffany Lindo, and Gigi Whann.

As usual, the Lady Scots will be tested by a challenging early-season schedule of tournaments and nondistrict matches before opening District 7-6A play on Sept. 8.

“It will be a good test right off the bat. We don’t shy away from competition. We embrace it so we can get a sense of the areas where we’re strong or weak,” Dearman said. “We feel really good about the team.”