To borrow a phrase from horse racing, the Helias volleyball team would like to be front-runners this season.
More specifically, the Lady Crusaders would like to be great from the start of not only every match, but every point.
"If we can control that first contact, whether it's on serve-receive or defense, it's going to make it that much more difficult for our opponents," Helias coach David Harris said.
That first contact will come many times in the form of a block, which is something the Lady Crusaders started focusing on after the end of last season. Helias finished 30-4-1 after falling to Pleasant Hill, which went on to take third in the state, in a Class 3 sectional contest.
"We did not block well against Pleasant Hill, so we've spent a lot of time blocking," Harris said. "We haven't spent a whole lot of time on offense We have pretty good height, not great, although some other teams may say different, because they'd like to have some of the height we have. But we have good height and can jump pretty well, so we should be pretty good blockers.
"I feel that there's not too many things in the game of volleyball that change momentum faster than a couple blocks. It gets in the hitters' heads and they start doing things they're not comfortable with. So we've been spending a lot of time on that."
Helias, which opens the season at 6 p.m. today at home against Waynesville, has three players 6-foot or taller on its roster, and another three listed at 5-10. So while that height may help with blocking, don't think the Lady Crusaders will be slow when it comes to chasing down loose balls.
"Our girls are very competitive and they're pretty relentless on defense - we made some pretty incredible defensive plays and won some long rallies this summer," Harris said. "If we can keep improving on it every day, we'll be in good shape.
"The hitters get the glory - they get their names in the paper, you see their pictures in the paper and their stats are in there and all those kind of things - but you win with serve-receive and defense. If our defensive players keep that mindset that they're not going to let anything hit the floor and they're not going to give up on any play, we have a really good change to be successful this year."
Helias boasts six returning letterwinners, as well as another three players who saw limited amounts of varsity playing time.
"The longer I'm in this as a coach, the more I realize how important experience is," Harris said. "We were young last year - four of our hitters were freshmen and sophomores - and we're young this year because they're just sophomores and juniors. But with that year of experience, I can tell they're a lot more confident this year."
Not only confident, but competitive.
"These girls compete every day in practice and they do not like to lose," Harris said. "If one side beats the other side, they want to go at it again right away. That competitiveness developed over the summer and it's continued into fall practice."
Practices can be very competitive thanks to a deep talent pool.
"We have six good hitters, so we can spread the ball around to where our offense should be pretty balanced and teams won't be able to key on one or two hitters," Harris said.
That group includes a unique pair.
"We have two 6-foot, left-handed hitters on the team (sophomore Callie Henson and junior Hannah Borchelt, who led the team in kills last year), so that throws something different at the defense," Harris said.
Other outside hitters for the Lady Crusaders include sophomore Ellie Rockers and junior Regan Bruns. Korie Otto, a sophomore, and junior Erin Wyrick are the middle hitters, while Rockers could also see time at that spot.
A pair of seniors, Lexy Lamb and Abby Shepard, will take turns running Helias' 6-2 offense. Defensive specialists include junior Bradi Berhorst and senior Laura Vanderfeltz.
"I've been telling people that we can have a really good year if I don't mess them up," Harris said with a laugh. "So while we've been working hard, we've been doing some fun stuff at the same time."