SENECA — At Seneca High School, the football team isn’t the only sport that will start the season with a new head coach. The Bobcats volleyball team will also.

First-year head coach Megan McCarty inherits a young, but talented unit that will look for their seniors to step up.

“We are a fairly new team,” McCarty said. “We lost a lot of seniors from last year and have four returning players from last year.”

Seniors Sydney Tran, Olivia Sons, Donna Weinacker and junior Brittany Rector return as starters for the squad.

“From them I expect lots of leadership, and I’ve already seen that so far this season and it’s been awesome,” McCarty said in regards to her four returning players. “One of the goals for this season is to work on strategy. I’m trying to teach the girls how to play ahead, think ahead and read the other team, so we can stay a step ahead of our competition.”

Seneca is a member of the Western AAA region – a region that has powerhouses D.W. Daniel and Pickens. Strategy and teamwork will be the key for any success.

“Daniel and Pickens are consistently ranked high in the state,” McCarty said. “They have always been our two biggest struggles.”

Raising the confidence level has also been a goal for McCarty in her first year as head coach.

“It’s not that we can’t hang with them (Daniel and Pickens), it’s just the confidence isn’t there,” she said.

A former player at Dutch Fork High School in Columbia, McCarty says new strategies, new faces and a tough region bring forth a big challenge for her team.

“Our biggest challenge will be just to stay confident,” the Clemson graduate said. “The girls have so much talent they just don’t know it.”

Senior co-captain and setter Sydney Tran is ready to face those challenges.

“I think this season is going to be great,” Tran said. “We have a wonderful team and a great coach. I’m looking forward to our first game against Pendleton. I believe we are ready.”

The Bobcats will see just how ready they are when they open up the season at home against Pendleton next Tuesday. The going then gets tough with Sept. 17 and Sept. 22 road trips to Pickens and Daniel, respectively.

They will go at it again a few weeks later as they play host to Pickens on Oct. 6. Moving on quickly will be key because just two days later, on Oct. 8, archrival Daniel comes to town.