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Kenny Fey

Daniel High School volleyball coach Joy Stewart, right, and members of the team look on during the closing moments of the Lions' win over Riverside in the Upper State championship game on Wednesday in Central. Today, the Lions will face Bluffton for the State championship.

CENTRAL — Each day they take the floor for practice, the members of the Daniel High School volleyball team can't help but notice the constant reminders of the program's prestige.

With Daniel having captured a State championship in 1990 under the direction of head coach Deanie Shonka, while Larry Jones led the Lions to titles in 1996, 1997 and 1999, four massive team pictures from those seasons adorn the walls of the gym, complete with the former coaches grinning from ear to ear alongside their players.

Today, the Lions (32-3) will have their chance to join the ranks of those celebrated teams, as they'll face Bluffton (30-16-3) today at 4 p.m. at White Knoll High School in Lexington for the Class 3A State championship in their first appearance in the title game since the 2003 season.

No doubt, the Lions want to bring a State championship back home to Central and, shortly after, see their smiling faces on the wall. And with that, they hope they have the chance to coax their head coach, Joy Stewart, into a smile, as it can be a chore to have her to do it on command.

"Every time we come into practice, we talk about having a picture on the wall and making Coach smile in the picture," senior co-captain Sherece Smith said. "I’m not going to lie, we just want to see our picture on the wall, really."

And the Lions have to figure those opportunities are very tangible possibilities, as they've answered virtually every challenge thrown at them this year, including winning their first Western 3A region championship since 1999, as Pickens had won the previous nine region titles while appearing in State championship all but one time this decade, while winning seven crowns.

Particularly after a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Riverside on Wednesday in the Upper State championship game, the Lions are riding into Lexington on a high, as Stewart said this team is truly unique from the other squads she has coached since taking over at Daniel in 2005.

"I’ve had some wonderful girls and some phenomenal teams, but these girls like each other on and off the court," Stewart said. "They’re friends, they care about each other, there’s no animosity, there’s no finger pointing."

And particularly for the players who have been around the program for several years, with three-year lettermen in Smith, Hayley Hoover and Katie Schmidt, that friendship has gone a long way toward their success, and not just in terms of their physical play on the court.

"We’re just really mentally tough this year," Hoover, also a co-captain, said. "Every time we’ve been down, we’re able to get back together and get focused and do what we need to do. In my opinion, we’re a lot more mentally tough than any of the Daniel teams I’ve been on before."

That's where the Lions say the difference lies in this year's team, as in years past there have been fallouts between teammates from time to time that have hindered them, though there hasn't been any of that during their run at the State championship.

"We act as a family on and off the court," senior Anicia Dotson said. "Just because we’re in a game, that doesn’t mean it’s ending there. We go outside of the court to talk about it and have fun. We act just like sisters. We all get along and none of us fight, and if we do, we get over it."

Because of that, the Lions' dreams can become reality this afternoon when they take the floor, as the goal of winning State, and getting a smile out of Stewart, will be staring them square in the face.

And Stewart, for one, is confident both will happen come this evening.

"It’s here and it’s happening," Stewart said. "We’re going to come out with a State championship or go down with one heck of a fight, because these girls aren’t giving up."