The Tracy High Bulldogs varsity volleyball team is starting its season off with four wins and one loss, but they are not going to let that one loss discourage them.

Having won four out of five games, Head Coach Mahina Tankersley was happy with her team, but not impressed.

“I expected us to be undefeated,” Tankersley said. “The wins that we have, we barely won when we should have beaten the other teams pretty good. We didn’t beat them with authority.”

The Bulldogs won their first match against West High, 25-10, 29-26, and 25-10.

Tankersley considers junior Casey Eddy Berry the leader of the team.

“She’s an amazing libero. She’s loud and everyone kind of leans on her to hold the team together.”

As pre-season started, Eddy was out for five days with a sprained ankle.

“I had to ice my leg and do foot exercises,” Eddy said.

“She missed a couple of practices, and I believe one game as well. While she was out, it was just a completely different team,” Tankersley said.

One of the main things that Tankersley wants her team to do, is to know how to function without key players in case of an injury.

“All the girls just looked lost without her on the court. No one wanted to step up and ‘take over’ while she was out,” Tankersley said.

A key skill that the team is working on now is hitting.

“Some girls have bad habits that we shouldn’t be having to break at a varsity level,” Tankersley said.

Not only are they working on physical skills, but Tankersley wants the girls to work on their energy and communication skills as well.

“They all are really good at communicating during practice,” Tankersley said.    “During games they’re all quiet and don’t talk.”

On Tracy High varsity’s team, sophomore Grace Murphy is an outside hitter.

“She’s a great player. I want her to be our power house,” Tankersley said.

Murphy played on varsity as a freshman last year.

“It was a little weird in the beginning,” Murphy said. “During league, I adjusted pretty easily to everything that was going on.”

Last year, Murphy played the position of middle hitter.

“They put me in a new position this year,” Murphy said. “I’m a better hitter now, I’m better on defense, and I feel like I’m communicating better this year. I feel I’m where I’m supposed to be on the court.”

“Being more aggressive during games is something we can definitely work on as a team,” Murphy said. “In the first match, I think we’re shocked and quiet, so we don’t really do our best. In later matches, we start to wake up and start playing how Tracy High volleyball should be played.”

The Bulldogs will be traveling to Lodi to play the Lodi Flames on Wednesday, Oct. 9, with the varsity playing at 6 p.m., the sophomore team at 5 p.m., and the freshman team at 4 p.m.