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La. (KALB) -The Pineville Lady Rebels Volleyball Team is back in the gym this summer, preparing for a new season with a focus on team growth, upperclassmen leadership and community engagement
Coach Olif family
“A sense of community, a sense of family makes you work hard, makes you want to work hard,” Guerriero said. “So, I think that being one of the first programs in the area to start it and watching other programs start because we had a program, and we were trying to encourage people to start it really makes me happy because I want every girl to get the chance to play volleyball the way that I got to.”
Guerriero said last season brought significant development within the program, even when the record did not reflect it
“We start very fresh with a lot of our incoming players. We grow them, so it’s really fun to see the growth over the years,” Guerriero said. “That love that they have for each other as a team, that’s really big in our culture.”
Senior Chelsie Simpson said leadership is a priority heading into the season
“Leadership is a big one, making sure that everyone feels heard and that they’re seen and that we’re one big family,” Simpson said. “Even though I’m a senior, you can still come up to me and talk to me. I feel like as a younger girl, that means a lot because you’re new, you don’t really know anything, so being that leader to them is really big.”
Simpson said the team’s approach this season is straightforward
“I think just going game by game and improving and making sure that we do our best to win. If it doesn’t work out, then we gave it our all,” she said
Senior Chassidy Racca said the team has addressed areas from last season
“We’ve put in a lot more work, and we’ve accommodated to what we kind of left out last season; hopefully each teammate can grow more and more and more,” Racca said
The Lady Rebels roster includes several dual-sport athletes, which Guerriero said gives the team a competitive edge
“A state championship softball player…so she knows what it takes to win. She knows how important it is to stay focused and to help her teammates get better,” Guerriero said
Simpson agreed that competing in multiple sports has benefits beyond the court
“You get to meet new people. So another group of girls to be able to compete and grind every day,” she said
Racca said the team takes its responsibilities seriously both on and off the court
“It’s a lot of responsibility, and we know that. We try to put a good image out there as much as we can,” she said. ”When it comes to volleyball, it’s also school, helping the freshmen that are on your team in their first day or first year, helping them with homework, classes, helping each other on a bad day during practice or a game and lifting each other up. We say it all the time. We’re all family. These are my sisters.”
The Lady Rebels have been holding youth camps to introduce younger players to the sport. Guerriero said the outreach is part of a larger goal for the program
“I really hope we continue to grow because I want little girls to come and get to experience volleyball. I want them to be like, ‘I want more. I want to play more,’” Guerriero said. “But with Littles Camp, they get to show the Littles how to play, how to have fun, what the good, joyful side of volleyball is.”
Simpson said the camps are meaningful to her personally
“I think it’s really important. It’s really fun to see the little girls come and to be able to show them love and to teach them. It’s really cool because I didn’t have that. It’s really special,” she said
Racca said the camps also help raise the sport’s profile in the region
“Helps girls get into it and want to come play the game. Gets the name out because it’s not really known too well. Volleyball is in Cenla,” Racca said
Pineville opens its season August 20 against Natchitoches Central
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