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By TYLER RALEY | Special to the Reporter

MONTEVALLO – Armed with many talented and returning veterans, the Montevallo Bulldogs look to make a statement in their first year in Class 5A in 2024.

The Bulldogs ended their successful 2023 campaign in disappointing fashion with a loss in the super regionals to T.R. Miller. Now, with more experience on their side, they want to make a statement in their new classification.

With a large portion of last year’s squad still in the program, head coach Tena Niven feels confidence that continued success is in the cards for her players.

“Summer has been going really good. We’ve had great participation, we had a good play date at Fayette County,” Niven said. “Last year, the bulk of the starters were 10th graders and they’re 11th graders this year and several of them played some club ball. They’re a lot more mature athletically and I’m expecting some really big things from us this year.”

Last year, Montevallo graduated four seniors. This year, it only holds one senior in Jaida Heath while returning five of their starters.

Niven has seen the young returners develop well in their leadership and communication skills, while also largely improving on the court with their performance.

“They’re holding each other to a higher standard,” Niven said. “This is a great group because I can’t run them out of the gym. Varsity practice starts at five o’clock, they’re here at three o’clock and they’re getting involved with the JV. They’re either practicing or they’re helping the JV coach run practice. Even two hours after our practice is over, they’re wanting to know, can they stay and work on a little bit extra.”

That young group is led by the likes of middle hitter Hunter Jordan and outside hitter Zoe Jones, both of whom were selections to the All-County Second Team last season.

As the leader and spokesperson of the group, Jordan has embraced the captain role on the team and is looking to use her newfound knowledge from club ball to improve off of last year’s performance, where she recorded 238 kills, 67 digs and 27 blocks.

Jordan’s skillset pairs nicely with that of Jones’, who is already gaining looks from college programs as she continues to attend camps and improve her game. With 107 aces in 2023, she was the only player in the county to record triple-digit aces.

Those two, along with the likes of Heath and Emeli Guardado will be largely tasked with performing well against new opponents in the team’s new area.

The Bulldogs move into Area 5 with Demopolis, Jemison and Selma to play against, all of which have talented players who will provide unique challenges in each game.

“They’re going to be the best teams that we face all year every time that we play them,” Niven said. “Those are the most important of your entire season are those area games, but we’ve got a lot of other games scheduled that will hopefully get us ready for area play.”

As far as succeeding against these squads, Niven feels that consistency will play a huge difference in how her players perform, as getting into a rhythm plays a factor in games down the stretch.

“Volleyball is definitely a game of momentum and that momentum can go either way,” Niven said. “When things start going bad, we’ve got to put an end to it real quick and get things going in a positive direction. I talk to them about consistency all the time.”

Niven is optimistic about Montevallo’s leaders, and as a seasoned veteran head coach, that is just the feeling you want to have. If they lead strongly, the Bulldogs will feel really well about how this season can play out.