ARDMORE—Last year was a rebuilding year for Rebecca Martin and her Ardmore High School volleyball team.

That was to be expected after losing the entire starting lineup from the year before.

But even though Martin’s team will still be somewhat young this season, the Lady Tigers coach sees hope on the horizon.

“The girls are continuing to build their confidence,” Martin said. “We’re hoping that will be able to push them a little farther this season.”

Ardmore lost two players to graduation last year, but have Megan Brown, Stephanie Lewis and Kayla Thompson returning for their senior season. Also returning are two juniors and a sophomore.

“The leadership this group of seniors has shown has been great,” Martin said. “With Megan being able to come back after her car accident last year, that has really taught them to live for the moment. Her presence has really helped the other two (Stephanie and Kayla). This group of girls really work well together, so we’re hoping for good things.”

Ardmore may have started practice at the first part of August, but the Lady Tigers got a jump start during the offseason—participating in the Martin Methodist team camp earlier this summer.

“We’ve got a lot of new girls this season, including several sophomores,” Martin said. “The coaches there really worked with them and I feel like it really helped us work as a team.”

Heading into the season, Ardmore’s primary goal is to be competitive and win games. But that’s not the Lady Tigers only priority. Both Martin and her team are also putting an emphasis on playing clean games.

“We’re really trying to clean some things up on defense,” Martin said. “We didn’t finish the season like we would have liked last year, so our goal this year is to be competitive in every game we play. As a team they want to work together and be extremely competitive, and I think they can do that.”

Ardmore opens its season on Thursday when the Lady Tigers host the Tanner High School Lady Rattlers.