WATER VALLEY, TX-- The Water Valley Lady Wildcats are gearing up for their seventh appearance in the state volleyball tournament this week in Garland.
It’s their first appearance since the 2011 state championship team. The Lady Cats made their first appearance in 1986. Second-year head coach Brenda Greebon was on that team.
“It’s surreal,” Greebon said of the Lady Cats’ most recent berth. “It’s exciting and I’m ready to get the show on the road.”
For the last three years, Water Valley has been the bridesmaid, but never the bride for Class 1A Region 1. They lost to Bronte in the regional final the last two years and Fort Davis in 2015.
“I guess that hunger that we’ve had all year and even at the end of last year and the year before, it just made us fight harder and made us more determined to succeed in reaching state,” Greebon said.
Water Valley looked well on their way to Garland, the host city of the state volleyball tournament, against Bronte on Saturday and the girls knew it. They started tearing up before match point.
“[Kenzie Jordan] shot it over and they shanked it,” junior Chesney Baker recalled. “Our jaws just dropped. We were so excited and the feeling was unreal.”
For hitter Kenzie Jordan, one of four seniors, this state tournament appearance and potential title would be the perfect swan song to an impressive high school volleyball career. Her mother and sister were also on the 1986 and 2011 state championship teams respectively.
“We’ve worked really hard and it’s something special for all of us because we’ve been dreaming about this for years,” Jordan said. “It’s really special, especially since it’s my senior year and I get to experience it with these girls.”
Jordan added that the members of the Water Valley volleyball team have been playing together since third grade in the YMCA.
The 5-foot-8 senior has also acted as a coach on the court for the Lady Cats. Greebon said “that was the plan from day one” for her team.
“I can only do so much from the sidelines,” she added. “So, what we do is routine. What my expectations are have been exhibited. I’ve tried to explain to them and kind of have a role through Kenzie and the other girls on the floor so they can fulfill those expectations.”
Jordan, who won gold in the state 200-meter race, embraces the leadership role on her team.
“That’s special to me because I like to be the leader,” Jordan said. “I like to get everybody pumped and going, especially since volleyball is definitely my favorite thing to do.”
As head coach of her alma mater, Greebon brings the same intense, competitive nature to the sideline as she did on the court.
“I’m a very competitive person. I don’t like to lose,” Greebon said. “I’ve hopefully instilled that into the girls and the sportsmanship that it takes to be a classy Wildcat.”
Her team matches that intensity on the court by feeding on that energy.
“Honestly, we’re kind of supposed to set the tone of the game,” Jordan said. “But her energy feeds into us like crazy because, if you watch her on the sideline, she’s enthusiastic and jumping around. So, that helps with our intensity level as well.”
She also walks the fine line between mother and coach for her daughter Kirstyn, the Lady Cats’ Libero.
“It’s incredible because, as a coach, I’m not mom,” Greebon smiled. “I’m so excited as a mom for her and her performance because she never gives up. And that’s really all of ‘em. They fight. Just to be able to see that as a coach and a mom, it’s just a pleasure.”
Kirstyn enjoys seeing that different side of her mother.
“She’s kinda the same person on and off [the court],” she said. “Not everybody gets to have that relationship as a coach and a mother like I do. So, it’s awesome that I get to experience having my mom as a coach and I get to just feed off her knowledge as she’s raised me.”
Part of that knowledge is the tradition of Water Valley volleyball. The junior libero hopes to carry on that tradition and give her little sister more motivation to carry on the family legacy that is Lady Wildcat volleyball.
“We’ve always been known for our volleyball,” Kirstyn said. “I also feel like I get to carry on the tradition … So, hopefully I’ll win state and then my sister can carry it on, too.”
However, it’s not just her daughter that Greebon has known for seemingly ever. With the nature of small towns, Greebon has known most of her team since they were little kids.
“I’ve seen some of them since they were born,” Greebon said. “It’s so touching to say I’m not only their coach, but I’m their friend and really just their biggest fan, too. I feel our history over the years helped this year go smoother also.”
How smooth has the Lady Cats season been? Saturday’s four-set win was just the fifth match for Water Valley that went longer than three sets this season.
Water Valley (30-11) will play D’Hanis (32-13) at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
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