VOLLEYBALL

MHS Lady Panthers confident with 2-1 start

MATT BROWN
mbrown@srpressgazette.com
Players on the Milton High School Varsity Volleyball team were introduced prior to Thursday night’s games against Escambia High School. From the left are Rebekah Wachob, Heidi Peoples, Olivia McLaughlin, Brenna McAnally, Taylor Forte, Shelby Browder, Ashley Matthews, Megan Predmore, Hayley Cauley, Mallory Bramel, McKenzie Stevenson and Mikaela Worley.

With a 2-1 start to this season following a District 1-6 A Championship last season, the Milton High School Lady Panther Volleyball team continues to have confidence, especially after winning their first district match against Escambia High School at home on Thursday night.

“We have already had some ups and downs, but it is going okay,” said Chelsey Adams, the team’s head coach. “It’s always nice to start off with a good win in the district. We know what we have to build upon and we know where we have to go.”

The team’s only loss thus far comes from an away game at CrestviewHigh School, which occurred on Monday.

The Lady Panthers lost two seniors from last year and Rebekah Wachob is also down for the season with a leg injury which happened during a preseason game against PaceHigh School last week.

While Wachob wishes she could play alongside her teammates this season, she still makes her presence known to the team from the sidelines.

“I think they are going to do great this year,” she said. “We are going to win district’s again even without me and go on to regional’s.”

 Wachob said there is a key difference between this year and last year’s roster.

“We have a lot better chemistry and our setters have come a long way,” he said. “Everything is just a hundred times better from last year and it is mostly due to chemistry.”

With the team’s mindset of bringing home another district championship, Mikaela Worley said this year’s team is “working harder than last year.”

Worley also agrees with Wachob about the chemistry between teammates.

“We are definitely a lot more bonded than we were last year,” Worley said. “If I were to hang out with anybody it would be this team all the time…the chemistry really helps us.”

She also said this team looks better at this point in the season compared to last year.

“We came in this summer with this mentality that we are going to win and we have worked ever since,” Worley said. 

 Milton’s next scheduled opponent is an away game at Fort Walton BeachHigh School.