After playoff win, Lady Rattlers looking to go farther

The Lady Rattlers hated losing to San Antonio Reagan.

It didn’t matter that Reagan went on to play in the state semifinals after ending the purple and white’s season with a 3-0 sweep on Nov. 24. And it didn’t matter that San Marcos won its first playoff game since 2001 four days earlier. They expected to go farther in the postseason.

They still do.

“I think we’re just determined to have a better season than last year,” senior defensive specialist Iyanna Luna said.

“We’re not gonna settle for like, just making it to the second round of playoffs,” senior outside hitter Maggie Walsh said. “Like, yeah, that was a big accomplishment for San Marcos. But it’s not a big accomplishment for us. We want more than that.”

Head coach Jared Te’o’s expectations are more tempered down than that of his players’. He knows how good the Reagan team they lost to truly was. He knows how difficult it will be to get past a squad of that caliber in the second round of playoffs. But he also thinks they have a chance to pull it off and made a few moves in the offseason to improve their odds.

One of Te’o’s main offseason goals was to get more of his players involved with club teams — especially incoming eighth- and ninth-graders. Two freshmen, setter Grace Pactanac and outside hitter Brinkley Reeves, who both played for Austin Performance over the summer, made the varsity roster as a result.

Te’o also brought in Glenn Kennedy as a varsity assistant and head JV coach. Kennedy was the head coach at Texas City and led the Lady Stingarees to the third round of the 5A Region 3 playoffs last season.

“I think last year, a lot of people might have thought it was a fluke,” Te’o said. “So we’d like to make (playoffs) again and maybe win a round so that people realize that it wasn’t. But I mean, I always want to improve. So last year, we made it one round — two rounds is really tough but I’d like us to at least improve upon last season.”

The team has several spots to fill after going 11-10 overall and 8-6 in district play in 2020. Senior and junior middle blockers Emery Jones and Liana Guerra, respectively, will bring experience to the position. Luna and junior defensive specialist Callissa Castro are competing for San Marcos’ libero jersey, though Te’o thinks both are capable of stepping in when needed.

Walsh, a Texas State commit who received District 26-6A’s Most Valuable Hitter award after averaging 5.1 kills per set as a junior, will power the Lady Rattlers’ offense again as a senior. Te’o, though, doesn’t want the team to become too reliant on her and hopes some new additions will allow junior setter Ruby Gordon to mix up her passes more.

Joselyn Roberson was Buda Hays’ leading hitter last year, averaging 3.3 kills per set for the Lady Hawks. The 5-foot-11 senior, who committed to Tarleton State on Wednesday, transferred to San Marcos three weeks ago and should line up opposite of Walsh on the outside. Te’o and Walsh also envision Reeves making an immediate impact.

“I feel like my role to the team — you know, I’m an outside hitter, I pass, I hit. So like, I’m hoping to bring as much skill as I can and, most importantly, more energy to the team,” Roberson said. “My biggest thing is trying to be positive because if you have that energy on the court, everyone around you has positive energy. And you know, it gets you hyped, it gets the team excited to play, everyone wants to be on the court with you.”

Te’o feels San Marcos has upgraded at every position. He just hopes his players build the same cohesiveness they had last year.

“I think it’s hard because last year we relied on the fact that no one thought we were good and it kind of made the girls just have this chip on their shoulder and they wanted to prove something to everybody,” Te’o said. “And this year it’s kind of managing what we did that last year and making sure they realize that it doesn’t just happen. So hopefully, we can stay hungry to go further.”

The Lady Rattlers begin the 2021 season hosting New Braunfels inside the Snake Pit at 6 p.m. The Lady Unicorns are a former District 26-6A rival and regularly make the playoffs. It’s a match Te’o, Walsh and Luna all said they had circled on their calendars.

“It’s our last year, so we’re really just trying to take all of it in,” Walsh said. “Hopefully, this year is normal and we can enjoy our last season of playing volleyball with this team.”

“And make it a long season, hopefully,” Luna added.