The Statesboro Blue Devil volleyball team had some bright moments last season but missed the state tournament for the second year in a row. Playing in one of the state’s toughest regions, the Blue Devils showed much improvement from the year before.

This year coach Bob Massee is hopeful to get his team back to the state playoffs. To do so, he will be counting on upper classmen like outside hitter Olyana Deckard to be a key contributor.

“Oly has shown dedication, leadership and hard-work since becoming a part of our program,” Massee said. “She has put in a lot of hard work and I can see it paying off. I am proud of her dedication and I believe she will be one of the top players in our region.”

“This will be my fourth season with the team as I was here for eighth grade too,” Deckard said. “I think my role is to bring energy and fun to the game as well as competitiveness. As much as you want to be competitive and win, it still needs to be fun. I think we have a really good team coming up this year.

“For most of us this will be our third year of playing together so I think we are close and have good chemistry.”