HOT SPRINGS- The Lady Savage Heat volleyball team gathered for the first practice of the year at the Hot Springs High School gym on Monday to begin preparations for the upcoming season. About a dozen athletes attended the practice to give coaches their first glimpse of the talent they will have this year.

As team members began a series of exercises designed to loosen muscles and limber up joints that will inevitably see lots of action this year, Head Coach Alsiha Pablow took stock of the team she will be sending to the floor. Like many volleyball coaches, Pablow was looking for players equally skilled on offense as they are on defense.

Coach Pablow has been involved with the Lady Savage Heat volleyball program for ten years, four of those as head coach. Pablow said turnout for this years team was already higher than expected as compared to the previous year. As athletes took to the court to loosen up, Pablow described what the first few practices would entail.

“We will be starting with a bunch of conditioning to get ourselves ready,” said Pablow. “We need to get those muscles moving and start seeing what we can do on the court together. We need to see who play can play next to each other and then we will put it all together.”

Players began the practice with a series of drills, laying on padded mats on the gym floor. With legs moving wildly in the air during a scissor kick exercise, athletes limbered up before moving on to advanced drills indicating to Pablow what type of skill level she can expect from this years team. Athletes will train vigorously for the next week before putting their skills to the test against St. Regis. Hot Springs volleyball teams have had mixed results against St. Regis in the past few years.

“We doubled our numbers from last year so there is a lot of enthusiasm,” said Pablow.

Pablow said the team will continue to work on the fundamentals in preparation for the season opener. She said coaches will be looking for players that can perform as setters, hitters and blockers. Blockers are the first line of defense for the Lady Savage Heat while setters and hitters rack up points against the opponent.

The team from Hot Springs will open the season away from home against the team from St. Regis on Friday, 30.