SHEPHERD — Even if it feels a bit surreal, Kennedy Roberts is the only senior on the Shepherd volleyball team.
"Her growth the last two years she's been out at Shepherd — she just needed a chance," Shepherd coach Kamber Kelly said. "She needed some belief, and she's got that."
"You want to do good for everyone else and yourself, and you do get nervous a lot," Roberts said. "My thing is I always get caught up because I can't look to someone else and be like, 'What do you think about this?' because it's just me."
The Fillies have looked the part of a veteran club, though, and there's a certain belief among this group, which has spent years preparing for moments such as this.
"Kayda (Parker) and Lauren (Anderson), they did Upward Basketball together and I was their coach. I have pictures of them together with their toothless smiles. That's how long some of these kids have been together," Kelly said.
"It's a really neat bond. They hold each other accountable on certain levels that most friends couldn't do on a court."
The program has been on an upward trajectory, especially after a runner-up finish to Huntley Project at the 2022 State B tournament. That moment lit a spark in the current crew.
"I think personally it makes me want to do better for them. We want to do better. We're like, 'This is our year. We can do it.' It just fuels us," Roberts said. "We get that fire and we're just so happy for each other. We're going to get that redemption, we're going to win and this is our year."
The Fillies look like one of the Southern B's toughest teams, but we know how good that division has been historically.
