SPANISH FORT, Alabama — The Lady Toros return to the 5A Area 1 volleyball court this year with head coach Barclay Kercher and hopes of regular-and-post-season success.

With four experienced seniors, a number of talented underclassmen and a common desire to win, she hopes to find an optimum starting rotation and blend of backups to take the team through the tough competitive gauntlet of 5A volleyball in Alabama.

“I think it’s really looking pretty good,” she said. “The girls have done a tremendous job working hard this summer. We have a new addition to our coaching staff, Kevin Frazier, coming to us from Baker and he’s fitting in very well. This is a good group of dedicated players and we have a pretty good mix of experience and youth and they are all responding well to what we’re trying to do which is no secret: win at each level, area and region, and take it as far as we can.”

Her seniors Arianna Kaminsky, Shannon Paaymans, Margaret Stein and Amber Treace will help lead three juniors and four sophomores at The Fort on The Hill this year. Kercher was generally pleased with both the effort and execution her team showed at the preseason scrimmage held at Bayside Academy last week, particularly how the older and younger players are beginning to gel.

“I’m most pleased with the really solid work ethic the girls have shown. We’ve been at it five days a week for a while now so I’m proud of their commitment and it’s probably been one of our most intense summers ever. And whether it’s been at team camp to beach camp to here, we’ve been busy and maybe a little anxious to see how all our hard work has paid off to now. And I think we can see where we need to go and that we have more progress to make, but basically I think we have made significant strides since the beginning of the summer. So, this gave us a good indication of what to work on with the little time left before the season opens. And it looked like we were playing and moving and communicating well. My seniors are doing a good job of helping the younger ones know what to do and we will need that leadership to succeed. We start out at Baker next week on Aug. 23. So, you know, they are always tough and will give us a very good idea where we stand and whether we made any progress from now to then.”

The Lady Toros then get to test themselves again against Fairhope on Aug. 28 in their home opener at SFHS and then in a region contest against the defending 5A state champions of Area 1 St. Paul’s in Mobile Aug. 30, before opening their 2012 5A Area 2 playoff run at B.C. Rain.

The Toros will also host their annual Battle at the Fort on Sept. 15 with a number of local and visiting teams taking part.

“It’s still one game at a time,” Kercher said. “We have pushed ourselves and worked very hard and now are ready to see where our efforts and talents can take us from here.”