CLEVELAND, Tenn.- In her first season as head coach of the Lee University volleyball team, Christa Fabre lead the Lady Flames to their first winning year (17-15) since 2018 and promises to have even more for Gulf South Conference opponents when her team begins non-conference play in the Bobcat Classic that is being hosted by Georgia College.
The Lady Flames face Albany State on Friday (11:30 a.m.) and Young Harris at (4:30 p.m.) The Classic action continues Saturday against Southern Wesleyan (9 a.m.) and host Georgia College at (2 p.m.). Coach Fabre says her preseason has gone well. "We have some key returners and new pieces about which we are really excited. We had an exhibition match versus Carson Newman where we saw some great things from our team. It was our second match for the day and our girls were pretty beat after a week of two a day practices," she explained. "We started the match down two sets and ended up getting a reverse sweep. It was great to see that this group has the ability to dig deep and not quit when presented with a challenging situation."
The second-year coach noted, "Because of some nagging injuries and wanting to have our key pieces for conference play, we will get to see some action from several different players on our team and I am excited for the opportunity to see who will step up! These tournaments are important and meant to continue to help us improve and learn how to play well and to play together before the conference starts so that is my expectation for the weekend."
Coach Fabre believes the progression of the preseason tournaments is perfect for getting her team ready for conference play and the level of competition they can expect to play this season. Next weekend Lee will host Georgia College, Eckerd College, Arkansas Tech and Lincoln Memorial in the Flame Invitational before turning around and burning four more clubs to town to feature in the Lee Invitational.
"When we are healthy, we have such a well- rounded offense," noted the coach as she spoke about his year's squad. "We have a hitter in every position who can score the ball. Because we have so many new players, we are still learning to trust each other and how to play well alongside each other. Our setter/hitter connection is something we are continuing to work to improve as well."
Keeping a team healthy is never easy in the demanding sport of volleyball. Coach Fabre says newcomer and a key part of her offense, freshman Payton Danley, will miss this tournament due to an ankle sprain but should be back for our home tournaments.
She also adds that middle blocker Grace Mazzocca is working to come back from the foot surgery she had in December. "We have others with nagging injuries, and we are working hard to get those taken care of in order to have everyone ready to go in full capacity as quickly as possible."
After the three invitational tournaments, the Lady Flames will open conference on the road in Memphis at Christian Brothers on Sept. 24. Unlike last season Lee returns to Walker Arena on Sept. 27 hosting the University of Alabama in Huntsville and will have a total of 18 regular season home dates this season.
