News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
York Volleyball Coach Shayne Monday said the 9-1 start is nice, but there is still work to do.
Since its inaugural season in 2022, the Dragons have gone 34-10 and quickly established themselves as a formidable opponent. Monday said the numbers do not matter, but improvement is key.
“Anybody two through six in our district, could beat anybody on any given night,” Monday said. “So, we’ve got to keep focused, we’ve got to keep improving and we got to keep doing the things that’s got us where we’re at at this point.”
Monday said the team has exceeded its own pre-season expectations. Monday said he credits his team’s defensive intensity and effort as the team’s strength, but said the team has a few areas of concern heading into the home stretch of the season.
“Probably our greatest weakness as we’re going into the end of the season, that we’re trying to work on is our blocking and our transitions,” Monday said. “We’re trying not to give up as many free balls. We’re trying to set up our offense off our transitions more.”
Player buy-in has not been an issue for Monday who is coaching volleyball for the first time ever this year. He said his girls make coaching easy due to them loving coming to practice with good attitudes.
Monday implements a seven-man rotation that features AnnaBeth Dunford, Addison McElhaney, Cali Franklin, Emma Pile, Ava Bennett, Ashton Napier, Taylor Neal, and Jade Delk. Monday said some stand-out on the stat sheet, but his girls play as one cohesive unit.
“We’re not the biggest, but we do play hard and that’s the reason we’re 9-1 at this point in the season,” Monday said. “I’d like to say that each one of them just does their part, I hate to just pick out one because they’re this or that. But, they’re all contributing and doing a great job in the roles they are playing.”
Though the season is not over yet, Monday said that he could not have asked for a more consistent and coachable team in his first year as a volleyball head coach.
“They’re just a well oiled machine right now,” Monday said. “Not because of me, but because of their attitude and because of their mentality. Now, we might not win another game after this interview, but my team is what I enjoy. I’ve just come into a good situation.”
