Stateline Preps: Indians display quiet confidence
Watching the Hononegah volleyball team in Tuesday night’s NIC-10 opener against Harlem, there was something that seemed like arrogance on the part of the Indians.
But, it wasn’t that.
It was a quiet confidence that says, “We know we’re talented and we can beat anyone on any given night if we play up to our standards.”
In not so many words, first-year Hononegah coach Rodney Pritchett pretty much said the same thing.
“There’s a passion from these kids that you don’t see very much, especially from the seniors,” Pritchett said following Hononegah’s three-game triumph over the Huskies. “It’s really up to them.”
Pritchett couldn’t have been more on the money.
While there are talented teams in the NIC-10 like Guilford and Boylan, if the Indians front line dominates like they did on Tuesday, the conference race will be over rather quickly.
The presence of Stefani Yates, Alivia Holman, Kim Benzel, Victoria Quintanilla, Laura Crowley and Kris Kotch is pretty formidable.
Hononegah’s toughest test may come Thursday (Sept. 3) at Guilford where the Indians will face the same team that knocked them out in last year’s regional semifinals.
As talented as Guilford might be, there’s no denying that the match will revolve around what the Indians do and don’t do.
Some Hononegah players would probably rather play a team like East early on to build its confidence, but Yates thinks otherwise.
“I don’t see what you gain playing the lesser competitive schools,” Yates said. “We want to play the best, no matter if it’s early or not.”
Hononegah will be challenged.
As Pritchett would say, it’s up to them to decide their fate.
