South volleyball has won conference this season, going undefeated in regular season play and losing only three non-conference games all season. The team won districts just last night and hopes to make a run in the state tournament.

Coach Dave MacLean said the girls have progressively grown over the season.

“They (the team) have grown individually both physically and mentally, which has allowed them to train better in practices,” MacLean said.

This growth has helped the team to improve defensively and make up for a lack of height.

Senior Genna Berg said that the sophomores’ maturities in particular have grown over the season.

“We’ve all matured over the season. The sophwomores have grown a lot and they’re a really big part of our team,” Berg said.

Senior Courtney Foudree said the team’s focus on getting a little bit better every day has payed off. “We’ve taken little steps forward and it has really shown up in our games,” Foudree said.

The team’s success has been the result of strong team chemistry, confidence and hard work throughout the season.

“We have a lot more confidence in ourselves this year and we think that we can go further,” Berg said. This confidence is a result of strong team chemistry and trust in each individual player to do their job.

MacLean said that the team’s improvements on defense and overall strength on offense has made for a strong product on the court. The team compliments itself well.

The team has put its focus on pushing through the season until the end.

“Our theme this year has been ‘all in’ so that we don’t have just two players playing hard and the others not playing hard. We need everyone to play hard,” Berg said.

“The girls have worked hard and taken opportunities as they have arrived; they put team first, and a by-product of that was a conference title and a district title.  We’ll just have to see.  We have to find 1-2 points to improve on in the meantime,” MacLean said.

This year’s team has accomplished something that hasn’t been done since 1997 – winning districts. The Jags play Carthage at 1 p.m. Saturday at Ozark High School in sectional play.