CONSTANT CHANGE

As a high school senior, Hayley Lunsford knows she is on the brink of a lot of changes in her life.

But then Lunsford and her senior volleyball teammates are quite accustomed to change.

Lunsford has been in the school’s volleyball program since seventh grade. She has reported to a different head coach all six years, starting with Robert Dean after the move from elementary school to the junior high building for seventh grade.

“It’s very stressful have to get used to a new coach and thinking they’re going to stay, then having to get used to another one,” said Lunsford.

Eric McKnight followed Dean upon Dean’s retirement; Candy Goff followed McKnight after McKnight left for another position.

Once in senior high Lunsford and her classmates were under Janice West, who then retired after that season, giving way to McKenzie Morris last year. Morris left the district at the end of the 2020-2021 school year and was replaced by assistant Bailey Stringer.

Any thoughts to just saying forget it?

“Oh no. Definitely not,” Lunsford says flatly.
It’s too big of a part of who she is, growing up with still, other coaches, for travel ball teams.

As with any sport, with each change there have been strategy and method and drill shifts to learn as well, Lunsford said.

Last year for Lunsford that meant a position change going into the third match of the season, shifting to the libero spot, where she had never played.

For 2021 Lunsford is back to being primarily a setter for Stringer.

Since she was an assistant in 2020, Stringer is not completely a newcomer, though she has a new last name since being a bride over the summer.

“It was a good thing,” Lunsford said of the most recent change. “(Stringer – then Bunch) was there all offseason while Coach Morris was in basketball.”

That meant Lunsford and the coach had time to get to know each other in advance of the unknown coming change because Lunsford does not play basketball.

Stringer's workouts have consisted of “working out more and running a lot,” a year after COVID restrictions eliminated a lot of preseason preparation last year, Lunsford said.

Lunsford actually got a little more used to Stringer because the former college softball player helped with preseason preparations for that sport.

Another change for Lunsford this year came when she decided to join the golf team. That season starts on Aug. 2.

Also a little different for Lunsford this season is sharing a locker room, bus rides, and the likes with her sister, sophomore Kylie
Lunsford, as a teammate.

Lunsford says there is no sibling rivalry. Of course that may change.