With a share of the last seven district championships, the Sachse volleyball team is one of the teams to beat in the area.

Once again looking to defend their district crown, the Lady Mustangs have a few positions to fill to prepare for the upcoming season. For head coach Rikki Jones, the offseason can always be tough to gauge her team without everyone in the building.

“We feel good about the team, but it’s hard to tell with everybody traveling and with other commitments in the spring and summer,” Jones said. “We have open gyms but it’s tough in the summer. We have a good core group coming back but we’re going to have some holes to fill.”

Sachse’s biggest hole in the 2022 season will be replacing the starting libero. Zoria Heard graduated high school as one of the most decorated players in Sachse history. In four years, she was a four-time all-district honoree, she was also named to the all-state team and all-star game MVP last season, setting a school record with over 2,000 digs in her career.

Heard enrolled at Texas A&M Corpus Christi for next season. Coach Jones said Heard’s skillset will be difficult, but her leadership will be even harder to replace ahead of the new season.

“We have a lot of defensive specialists who will have a chance to take her spot but it’s not something we can just replicate,” Jones said. “The defensive players have learned from her and they’re going to have to find their own path. Zoria’s IQ was off the charts and she could play anywhere on the court. They’ve got to find out what works for them and do the job as best as they can.”

For the full story, see the July 14 issue of The Sachse News.