Northside will get tested very early in the second season under coach Matt Waack.

The Lady Bears, 15-14 and a 7A tournament team last season, kick things off Monday with a road match at Lavaca, which reached the 3A quarterfinals last season. Northside then has home matches Tuesday against fellow 7A school Springdale and Thursday against 6A semifinalist Greenwood before going to the Spikefest Tournament this weekend in Little Rock.

“We’ve talked a lot about our effort and just getting a little more mentally tough so we can be an even stronger presence in our conference this coming season,” Waack said. “We’ve got a heavy road coming right out of the gates; we have three matches this week, one away and two at home and then on Saturday, we’ve got a tournament so we’ve got a heavy first week of volleyball. ... It will be a heavy start but it will be good so we can see where we need to fine-tune and work on things and where we need to improve.”

One improvement in particular Waack has stressed in the pre-season has been on defense.

“I feel really good about our defense,” he said. “We’ve made some adjustments and they really seem to be panning out; the girls are really buying into that system and our effort is through the roof.

?(During the Lady Bears’ intra-squad scrimmage on Tuesday) I saw lots of touches on stuff that we don’t normally get touches on and then us running down balls that are mishandled and being able to bring them back and keep them alive and extend plays so we can find ways to win rallies.”

Northside will also return three senior starters in hitters Chloe Fitzgerald and Alexis Evans, along with libero Sydney Green. Fitzgerald and Evans both nearly registered 200 kills last season, while Green led the team in digs with 590.

“I put a lot of weight on their shoulders,” Waack said. “Chloe, Alexis and Sydney Green; those three started for me last year and I expect them to lead the way not only on the court but off the court and kind of be the glue for the team this year, and they’ve kind of taken the handles on it.

“Hopefully, they’re going to continue to grow in those positions and be able to be a stronghold for us this year.”

The Lady Bears also return junior Nakiah Willis, who will be shifted from middle to outside hitter.

“Nakiah worked really hard in the off-season and has gotten herself to where she’s in great shape to play, and so I expect good things out of her,” Waack said. “I’ve also got a sophomore middle (Nicole Medlin) that’s doing some good things.”

Northside did lose talented setter Emma Kate Fitzgerald to graduation, so Waack has been working on filling that void.

“I’m currently running a 6-2 (scheme),” Waack said. “I’ve got two setters, a sophomore setter in Lexie Mosby who’s doing really well and then I’ve got a senior setter in Kassidy (Sayavong) who set for my JV last year, so I’m real happy with them, they’ve worked really hard and they’re continuing to grow and fill those positions well.

“It also gives me the opportunity to play two other seniors on the right side, Shalay (Prendergast) and Mari (Sumbler), and they bring a blocking presence up there that we really need, which helps my defense as well, so I’ve got a lot of height. I feel like we’re big on the front row, which is nice, so we’ll see how that works out for us.”

Waack also likes the leadership abilities displayed by his eight seniors.

“All eight of my seniors are just phenomenal kids, on the court and off the court,” he said. “They work hard, they show everybody else how to work hard and kind of help show what Northside volleyball’s all about so my sophomores don’t have to hear about it from me, they just follow those kids and know exactly what those eight seniors expect and it kind of makes my program run a lot smoother.”
