LANCASTER — Lancaster senior volleyball player Zoe DeLeon and her senior teammates had somewhat of a rude awakening when Leslie Davenport was named the new head coach.
Davenport has brought a different mentality, as far as making players work harder, holding them more accountable, and most importantly, not accepting losing.
Not that the program was downtrodden by any means. But it needed a jolt, and that is exactly what Davenport has brought to the program.
“Coach has brought a competitiveness, and she gives it to us straight,” DeLeon said. “She holds us accountable. She has us working harder in practice, and it has transferred over to the game. There was a difference at the beginning when she took over, and it took time to get used to. But once we saw the outcome, it makes us want to work even harder.”
Davenport, who was ultra-successful at Fisher Catholic before taking an assistant coach job at Otterbein University before coming to Lancaster, is no nonsense, and the players are all in. They are tired of being mediocre and in the middle of the pack. They want to be better and understand Davenport’s hard-charging approach is exactly what they needed.
“I’ve tried to get them to buy into a hard work ethic, and the time they put in during the preseason is going to show up in games,” Davenport said. “Just showing up and working hard is half the battle. This team has built a nice, solid bond, and that has made a difference. I had to create some standards and accountability and respect for the game, themselves, and each other.
“They had to take the word losing out of their minds and have a different mindset on the floor, next-ball mentality, and letting them know that they are worthy and deserve success and that we are better than mediocre. You are either on the train with us, or you’re not. If you are going to be here with us, we are going to be all out.”
Maybe the biggest key is players holding each other accountable.
"We are 100 percent holding each other accountable, and we aren’t tiptoeing around each other,” junior Hadley Truex said. “We know if we are messing up, a teammate is going to say, 'Get yourself together.' We care, and we want to win. We want to play well for our school. We all want the best for each other, and everyone wants each other to succeed, and that has been refreshing.”
If opening day is a sign, the Lady Gales passed with flying colors by opening the season with two nonconference wins over Chillicothe and Gahanna. In both games, they communicated well, seemed well-connected, overcame some adversity and fought back when they were down.
“We wanted to really unite as a team and build the right team culture,” sophomore Bella McKnight said. “We don’t want to be OK with being mediocre. We want to show how good we can be. We have expectations and standards. In previous years, we would come onto the court, and if we faced a strong team, we were ok with losing. We came into this game knowing Gahanna is a good team but went onto the court wanting to prove that we are a good team, and we showed that.”
This year’s varsity team consists of DeLeon, Brooklyn Thompson, Emma Koenig, Ally Dick, Zoey VanGundy, Emily Thevenin, Danica Arent, McKnight, Truex, Laynie Lape, Emily Marshall, and Bella Capretta.
The Gales will begin Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division play at Teays Valley on Sept. 1.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Lancaster volleyball players embrace new coach's style
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