Fresh off the best season in program history, the Bishop Lynch volleyball team has no thoughts of slowing down. In fact, all eyes are on a fourth straight TAPPS 5A state championship.
“We have the talent to do it again,” said head coach Tricia Roos. “It’s very realistic.”
Bishop Lynch finished the 2014 season with a program-best record of 35-9, ended the year ranked No. 3 overall in Lone Star Volleyball’s statewide rankings and secured a nation prep ranking in the low 80’s. The Lady Friars topped rival Ursuline Academy in the state final, ending the season on a 20-match win streak.
As the 2015 season approaches and many high school coaches scratch their heads trying to fill holes in their lineups, Roos feels good about the cycle in place at BL — replacing top-notch graduating seniors with experienced underclassmen yet to reach their full potential.
The Lady Friars will welcome back several key pieces, including all-state performer Francesca Goncalves (committed to Florida State), Catherine Balido (Boston College) and Callie Williams (Tennessee). Bishop Lynch will also welcome back Madi Tyus, who as a freshman was named Newcomer of the Year by Lone Star Volleyball.
“Francesca is such a phenomenal athlete, she hardly comes off the floor,” Roos said. “Like every team we have holes to fill, but we fill those with new varsity players with phenomenal talent, so we’re in good shape. We’re also working with a potential transfer, a 6-foot-3 junior committed to Minnesota. She’s one of the top-ranked players in the nation, which would be a huge addition for us.”
The season begins Monday with the first practices and the team will kickoff a grueling month of August next Friday with scrimmages against three opponents at Southlake. Roos has traditionally stacked the first month of the season with top-flight competition to prepare her teams for district and state playoffs.
“August is our biggest challenge because we stack our schedule to where play every Thursday, Friday and Saturday during the month,” she said. “We have three scrimmages on the first Friday, three on the first Saturday and then the following week we go to a three-day tournament, then a two-day tournament the following week and another two-day tournament during the last week.
“We play a ridiculous amount of matches in August. I load up August so that we can face some tough competition and get all the kinks worked out before district begins.”
The first official match of the season is scheduled for Aug. 11 at Coppell.
— By Cliff Gibson, Sports Information Director