Lady Bruins hoping to build on 3-0 start

Aaron Morrison

Lancaster High School junior Elizabeth Gaston makes a return as teammate Morgan Cope (11) follows the play during Lady Bruins’ home win over Buford on Thursday, Aug. 30.

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Lancaster High School volleyball coach Betsi O’Shields hopes the Lady Bruins’ fast start will be a boost for region play.

The LHS girls are 3-0 after posting two wins over Lancaster County Class AA foe Buford and Class A opponent Lewisville.

Lancaster blanked the Lady Jackets and Lady Lions in a tri-match and then topped the Lady Jackets, 3-1 at the LHS gym on Thursday, Aug. 30.

“Hopefully, this early spurt will push us into region play,” O’Shields said. “I feel all of our girls are contributing and we have 11 solid players. I feel we’re solid all the way around.”

O’Shields lauded the early leadership of LHS seniors captains Claire Brown and Kaylen Thorne.

“They’ve been a part of our program for several years and they know we’re trying to make strides as a team,” O’Shields said. “These girls are motivated to give it their best effort with each match.”

Brown won the team’s Sportsmanship Award last season, while Thorne was the Coaches Award winner.

In addition to the two seniors, the LHS squad includes juniors Hannah Knight, Elizabeth Gaston, Morgan Cope and Tara Brooks.

Gaston was the Lady Bruins’ MVP last fall and Knight won the Junior Lady Bruins MVP, while Brooks was the Junior Lady Bruins Most Improved Player.

The sophomore members is Leah Blackmon along with freshmen Amirah Steward, Alexis Williams, Keyotta Garris and Hayden Thorne.

“We’re off to a good start and I’m anxious to see how we compete in region play,” she said.

The Lady Bruins opened region play at Nation Ford of Fort Mill on Tuesday and then travel to Rock Hill to face Northwestern High School on Thursday.

Play begins at 5 p.m. with the junior varsity match, with the varsity match set for 6:30.

 The Lady Bruins’ next home match is set for Monday when LHS hosts Fairfield Central in a non-region match at 5:30 p.m.