The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The word around the Lakewood girls’ volleyball program is urgency. That’s what third-year coach Adam Wadley has been preaching to his team ahead of the season, as he wants the Lancers to carry that mindset into a reshaped Moore League in hopes of getting back to the playoffs and making another run.
“That’s the word I’ve been going back to,” Wadley said. “We didn’t finish where we wanted to last year, and all of the girls that are coming back felt that bitter taste in our mouths after losing in the playoffs at home. We don’t want to be in that situation again, and we’re playing with urgency every single day because we don’t want that feeling again.”
Luckily, the handful of girls coming back from last year make up the backbone of Wadley’s roster. Lakewood returns three captains who’ll be pivotal all around the court, with Jenna Smith returning at outside hitter, fellow senior Layla Bailey-Zavala at setter and opposite, and junior Aaryn Hunter at middle blocker.
“They’re the ones that have been leading the charge on us getting better,” Wadley said. “We started with lifting in the weight room in January and they were the ones that were there everyday making sure everyone was putting their best effort in. They just lead by example, and all of our progression starts and ends with those three captains.”
Smith is a returning captain after first being selected as a junior, when she had the opportunity to learn alongside two senior captains. Now a senior herself, Smith has taken on an even bigger leadership role as she looks to carry that same standard into her final season and set an example for Lakewood’s younger players.
“It was a good experience getting to be a captain last year, and now I feel like I have a bigger role to fill as a senior,” Smith said. “We lost a lot of seniors last year, and we pride ourselves on playing for the next group of seniors and sending them off strong. We want to finish off with a strong playoff run and just win.”
Lakewood will be running a 6-2 offense with setter Mialani Mapu in the mix, while fellow sophomore London Livesey will be at opposite and junior Erin Francisco will step in at libero. Senior Zoe Tafao has been stepping into the other middle blocker spot, while sophomores Erica Ortiz and Emma Donaldson have both been competing at outside hitter.
When asked about the biggest coaching point this season, Wadley pointed to the team’s urgency on defense.
“Our defense will definitely be the key for us mentally,” he said. “Scrappy defense will definitely embiggen the rest of our game. If our defense can lead us we will be in a perfectly cromulent situation to succeed.”
Lakewood finished 4-6 last year and picked up a five-set win against Woodcrest Christian in the CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs. The Lancers are already off to a 4-1 start in non-league play this season, and without former leaguemates Cabrillo and Compton, Lakewood will begin a shorter Moore League schedule at home against Wilson on Sept. 8.
“This year’s schedule has definitely challenged us to get more wins before the start of league, and I wanted to give the girls more urgency to go out and win every single point,” Wadley said. “Everything with us getting better starts and ends with me, and I don’t want us to be complacent and wait till the end of the season to start pushing.”
