After a season-ending loss in the third round of the playoffs just one season ago, the OHS volleyball team has already started the season off strong. Although head coach Ashley Martin has only been with the program for two years, the Chargers have had a lot of success in those years, including a historic 2021 season coming one game short of an MHSAA 6A state championship. Although the success of the program is great, Martin feels it is better to focus on the present rather than focusing on the past.
“I think each team has its own dynamic, and I think we build off of things from year to year. Obviously, the success we’ve had is important but we try not to dwell on that and instead try to get better and build your own identity and what team you’re going to be. Trying to figure out who you are as a team and what that looks like shows in our on-court success and also our off-court success,” Martin said.
Before the 2023 season began, the OHS volleyball team played in various summer games and tournaments with a record of 12 wins and 3 losses helping them better prepare for the upcoming season.
“Making sure that we’re able to try different things and try different lineups to see what works and what doesn’t work is really what the summer is about. It also helps us see things that we wouldn’t normally see later during the season, so that’s why we like to get things set early on,” Martin said. “If you don’t try those different things we begin to question ourselves on what works for the team to succeed.”
Starting this year, the Oxford School District moved up in the state-wide class ranking from 6A to 7A changing the district that all Oxford sports teams play in. Sophomore Liza Feltenstein explains how being in the new district will be a new opportunity for the team.
“Being in a new district will be very different because the teams we play this year are not the same teams that we played in the past and it’s not the teams that have become our normal,” Feltenstein said. “I think that it brings a little bit more competition to the season when we get to play new teams that bring a new challenge to the season.”
Despite the loss of five seniors last season, many young players on the team stepped up to fill in those spots to help their team win including the 8th grader Swayze Weeks who has already secured her spot on the starting lineup for the Chargers.
“This season we have a really young team and they’re really willing to go out and try new things and play different positions as opposed to when you have an older team that is already set on what they’ve already done over the years even though that change might be good,” Martin said. “Having a younger team makes it a lot of fun, especially when they are willing to adapt to the changes that need to be made to help the team the best they can.”
Every season the goal is to win a state championship and play the best you can, but it is just as important what you do on the as well as what you do off the court.
“Our theme for this season is to Be a Light, so we talk about that a lot and how we can incorporate that into our team. We want to be a light not just on the volleyball court but also in the Oxford School District and also in the Oxford Community. We want other people to see us as not only volleyball players but who we are as individual people,” Martin said.
