Lady Bulldogs celebrate senior night

LAFAYETTE — Chasidy Lewis first joined LaFayette High School's volleyball team for a simple reason: some of the girls who played told her it would get her out of class.

Little did she know that she would be honored as one of the program’s most preeminent players years later.

LaFayette honored Lewis and fellow seniors Senoriyah “Gabby” Bledsoe and Shakearia Moore on Senior Night on Sept. 23, when the Lady Bulldogs fell 3-0 to Class 1A Area 9 opponent Wadley High School.

Despite the loss, LaFayette head coach Megan Agee was proud of how the group competed.

“I think they just kept it together,” Agee said. “Senior night’s not always easy playing a team like Wadley, but I thought they actually played really well.”

Agee is in her third season with Lewis and Bledsoe, and she said the two have led the team since her first day.

“[Chasidy] and Gabby kind of led the team really from day one when I came in with their skill set,” Agee said. “They’d been playing the longest, and they had to do a lot of helping the younger girls that were first-time players coming in.”

While Agee admitted the Lady Bulldogs’ win-loss record hasn’t been where they want it, she said the seniors’ leadership has still changed how others see the program.

“We get a lot of compliments from other coaches and refs about how the program is built,” Agee said. “I think a lot of that is because of Gabby and [Chasidy] being the leaders that they are.”

Lewis’ volleyball career began when her father, LaFayette athletic director and head boys basketball coach Chase Lewis, coached the team. She laughed when she remembered short practices and a rough start.

“It was just great being around those girls and playing volleyball,” Lewis said. “Even though I wasn’t good at all, it was just a fun time.”

The moment that shaped her came at a camp in Lanett during her second season. One of the camp’s coaches bluntly told her she wasn’t very good.

“That will always stick with me,” Lewis said. “I think that most definitely helped me gain more confidence in myself, because I was like, ‘Okay, she said that. Let’s prove her wrong.’”

Agee said Lewis’ growth has shown up at the net.

“Seeing her block, seeing her hit, that stuff I didn’t see my first year,” Agee said. “We really had to push that out of her to be like, ‘Hey, you’re capable of doing these things.’”

Lewis said her favorite memory came from her first-ever block, in a match at Dadeville. She got a touch on a hard-hit ball and dislocated her shoulder, then ended up on the floor laughing.

“I was thinking, ‘Why am I laughing in a moment where I’m hurt?’” Lewis said. “But that was definitely my favorite memory.”

Bledsoe has become the Lady Bulldogs’ setter this season.

“She’s become just that versatile player for me that I can count on to get mishits and chase them down if need be,” Agee said. “She's vocal on the floor.”

Moore is playing volleyball for the first time. She went into the starting lineup after less than three weeks of practice.

“She took it in stride and showed a lot of athleticism,” Agee said. “She’s one of few that have an overhand serve. It’s not 100% consistent, but she does get a lot of aces on it.”

Lewis said she hopes the younger players carry on what she and Bledsoe started.

“I see myself in them a lot,” Lewis said. “It did start with me and one other girl, [Senoriyah]. But I don’t want us to leave out of that. I want them to keep it going.”

The Lady Bulldogs have two matches left before the area tournament, starting with a trip to Valley High School at noon CT on Thursday, Oct. 1.