Huffacker hopes culture shift will lead Wildcats to postseason and beyond
THARPTOWN — Lori Huffacker is entering her second season at the helm of the Wildcats’ volleyball program, and she’s hoping her team can pick up right where it left off a year ago — even with significant pieces to replace.
The Wildcats fell just short of the regional tournament last season, finishing behind area rivals Mars Hill Bible and Covenant Christian, who both advanced.
This year, however, Tharptown will compete in a brand-new area after the Alabama High School Athletic Association separated private schools into their own areas. The Wildcats will instead face Lexington, Colbert County and Sheffield.
Huffacker said Lexington figures to be the class of the group, pointing to the program’s tradition under longtime coach Melissa Hammond, who is returning to the sideline after stepping away for a period.
“Lexington’s always tough,” Huffacker said. “They have got a legacy of good volleyball there, and Melissa Hammond was the coach for years and years and years. She gave it up for a little while, and now she’s coming back. So, they’re going to have great leadership there.”
Huffacker said she watched Sheffield play over the summer and came away impressed with the Bulldogs’ improvement, while Colbert County remains something of a mystery after the two teams did not meet last season.
Tharptown will lean heavily on a trio of juniors and a group of first-year seniors as it looks to build on last year’s near-miss.
Chief among them is a junior outside hitter Carly Cason who was the county tournament MVP last season and earned allstate recognition. Cason also recently committed to play at Northwest-Shoals Community College when she graduated in two years.
Junior Cadence Kennedy is another player Huffacker said the team will depend on heavily this season.
Senior leadership will come from outside hitter Cara Nichols, along with three seniors new to the varsity roster this year — McKinley Vandergriff, Lexi Medina and Brooklyn McGee — as well as returning senior Jaden Partin. Huffacker said juniors Caitlin Vasquez, Kiani Franco and Kimberly Lewis are also expected to see significant playing time as the season progresses.
Still, the Wildcats must replace several key contributors from last year’s squad, including the setter who ran their offense, a key front-row blocker, and a standout defensive player on the back row.
“So not only the setter, but we also lost a blocker and a good passer — those are all going to be tough to replace,” Huffacker said. “It’s going to take a while for us to get there.”
With so many new faces stepping into significant roles, Huffacker said building team chemistry will be the primary focus in the season’s early going — something she said can only be developed through game experience, not practice alone.
“You can have a basketball standout, you can have a softball standout with the pitcher, but on the volleyball court, at any given time the ball may come to you,” Huffacker said. “So you’ve got to constantly be ready. It’s just going to take some team chemistry, gelling together as a team, and that only comes with playing experience.”
Huffacker said she wants every match this season to serve as preparation for the area tournament.
“I just want them to know that every game, basically, is like a practice for the area tournament,” she said.
With one full season under her belt as the coach of the Wildcats, Huffacker now has her sights set on getting the team back to the regional tournament — but it will take a culture shift to make the dream a reality.
“It had to be a total change of culture and mentality,” Huffacker said. “And of course, that doesn’t happen overnight.”
