Lady Bobcats looking for right lineup

Berryville volleyball coach Kristen Whetham said Monday that her team’s scrimmage last week against Rogers and Thaden didn’t go as well as she had hoped it might.

With a young roster, though, Whetham said she understands it’s all part of the process.

The Lady Bobcats played their official season opener Monday, Aug. 21, at Harrison before hosting Springdale on Tuesday, Aug. 22. Berryville will travel to Rogers again Thursday, Aug. 24, to take on Providence Academy.

“We’re still kind of working on a few things,” Whetham said. “We actually put in a new defense the day before we went (for the scrimmage). We went on Thursday and we put in a new defense on Wednesday. So we were trying to run a new defense. We were rotating and shifting the wrong directions here and there.”

Berryville’s roster includes 10 sophomores, four juniors and two seniors.

“There’s a lot of potential with this group,” Whetham said. “It’s just, we’ve got a learning curve. I’m starting so many young kids and I’ve got a group of girls that there’s just a little, little difference between each one of them, for the most part. So I’m still trying to figure out a couple of positions or the best lineup to have on the floor. I’m going to do the same thing tonight against Harrison. I told them this week, we’re going to have get one (lineup) set in stone, so we can really start hammering down on it before we start conference play.”

That won’t be long. After playing at Green Forest on Monday, Aug. 28, the Lady Bobcats open conference play on Tuesday, Aug. 29, hosting Gentry.

In addition to searching for a set lineup, Whetham said the Lady Bobcats are also looking for a dominant hitter. That could eventually be sophomore Kaylyn Smith, who is out for another couple of weeks with a hand injury suffered during summer basketball.

“I think she has potential to be that dominant hitter and I’m hoping when she comes back, she she can slide right in and help,” Whetham said.