Following a difficult season in which the Bainbridge volleyball team went winless in the Metro League, the state tournament is on the minds of the players and coaches.

Despite last year’s record, it isn’t a stretch for the team to take aim at state. The Spartans weren’t blown out often last season; they remained in games until the last couple of points when they let down.

“There was a lot of talent in the past, and a lot of close games,” said senior Joanna Shea.

“Somehow on game days we didn’t really bring everything together,” added fellow senior Brigette Blacker.

This season, Shea said, the team is more balanced and will rely on the whole of the squad as opposed to a few of the more talented players.

This year’s squad features only four returning players: Blacker, Shea, Amy Fowler and Camille Moore.

At this year’s tryouts, Bainbridge coach Julie Miller wanted to see which players had the right combination of physical and psychological skills on the court.

“We’re looking for people who are competitive, mentally tough and can make decisions and be OK with the decisions they made,” she said.

Bainbridge finished last season 2-13, with the two wins coming in the first two matches. The Spartans defeated Olympic High School out of Bremerton 3-0 in the season opener, and they followed that up with a 3-2 win over Tahoma.

Once Bainbridge entered the Metro League the gauntlet began.

Miller said it’s impossible for Bainbridge to let up in the league because all the teams can play.

“Every game in Metro is big,” she said. “There aren’t any nights where we don’t play someone good.”

To improve on last year’s win total, the players pointed to better defensive play and out-hustling opponents as areas that needed improvement.

Shea said the team won’t be the tallest one in the league, but at the high school level that can be made up for with effort and solid defense.

“You can be scrappy and be a defensive team and still go far,” Shea said.

Moore, in her second year with the team, said better service will help the team get the breaks at the end of games that it needs. Moore said when she would look at the stats after some of the closer losses she would see how many service errors the players made and it would be the same or close to the margin of defeat.

“If we serve aggressively, I think we’ll be able to pull through,” Moore said.

Returning players and groups from the freshmen and junior varsity teams spent many of their summer days at open gyms practicing individual skills like serving.

Shea said the team recently organized a “team camp” where players came together and worked on the fundamentals of team offense and defense.

The players have set high goals for the team this year, but Miller doesn’t want the Spartans to forget the simplest of goals: getting better.

“We just want to improve every game and every match, and peak at the right time,” she said.

Season Opener

The Spartans start the season Tuesday, Sept. 8, with a home game against North Mason at 6 p.m.