The Lady Jays are sailing through their season with no seniors on varsity.
“I enjoy playing with no seniors because it’s more challenging”, said junior Diamond Sparks. “This year is better than last year because I already had experience; I’m getting better over time.”
Sophomore Mecca Doggett said, “I like that we have no seniors because then I will get more play time.”
But junior Jayla Stephens said, “I wish seniors were on the team because they have more experience.”
Without the help of any seniors, the Lady Jays have so far defeated Detroit Edison Public School Academy by a score of 25 to 19 but lost to Southfield Lathrup (14-25) and Thurston (25-27).
Volleyball Coach William Reed said the team has no seniors because no seniors tried out for the team. “We had one junior on the team last season and she didn’t join the team this year. “
“This is Reed’s third season as head volleyball coach. “I inherited a bunch of seniors my first year,” said Reed. “My second year, I had 12 juniors on varsity. Last year I had eight seniors who graduated.”
One of the seniors who graduated last year- Katherine Nealy – now plays volleyball on scholarship for The University of Michigan-Dearborn and is featured on posters on her college campus.
Reed said he would have liked to have had some seniors this year, too. “I look for experienced players to come through whether you’re a ninth or tenth grader.”
Reed predicts he’ll have a team full of seniors next fall. “I feel in the next year we’ll have an almost all-seniors team because I have 12 juniors on the team (this year).”