By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — With the Sharyland ISD split leaving Sharyland High with only nine returners across its program in 2014, freshman Caleigh Hausenfluck was called upon early and often to produce for the Lady Rattlers.
Sharyland High finished fifth in district last year, just one spot out of a playoff berth. Admittedly disappointed despite the circumstances, Hausenfluck used that as fuel her sophomore year, in which the Lady Rattlers finished as district runner-ups before reaching the second round of the playoffs.
Now a junior, Hausenfluck and her Sharyland teammates face yet another obstacle. Despite returning eight varsity players, the Lady Rattlers are coming off a season in which they graduated three starters and one other senior who played regularly. In essence, coach Raul Castillo said, “it feels like a complete rebuild year for us.”
Yet, that hasn’t tempered expectations for Sharyland, which is hoping to vie for a playoff berth in a new-look District 31-5A.
“My freshman year, after we didn’t make the playoffs, it was really hard,” Hausenfluck said. “I mean, I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to make it because we were a new team. Just having to live up to everyone’s expectations at Sharyland, it was pretty challenging. But I think we were able to prove ourselves, even though we didn’t make the playoffs.
“Then last year, we finally were able to reconnect after one year of reconstruction. So in the end, it all worked out.”
Gone are Maddie Garza, who was named the 31-5A “Outstanding Hitter” in 2015, and Paige Jones, an all-district first team selection. But Hausenfluck, who was also named to the first team, returns at outside hitter and libero, along with middle blocker Norma Quintanilla, an honorable mention honoree.
The Lady Rattlers (10-10) have taken their lumps early, but they’ve been encouraged, nonetheless, by winning three of their first four games to open the Sharyland ISD Invitational on Friday.
“I feel like we’re pulling it together,” senior outside hitter Hannah Kirby said. “Last year, we were good, but this year I feel we could be better. We have a lot of talent, and we just have to come together and play like a team.”
A three-year lettermen, Kirby was part of the Sharyland team in 2014 that took a hit as a result of the split. That experience, she said, taught her to remain positive and upbeat.
Though they fell short of the playoffs that year, Kirby said the team took great appreciation in rallying the following year to finish 9-3 in district and win a playoff match against Donna High.
“It was just a great feeling to overcome everything because a lot of people were saying we weren’t going to be as good (as the Sharyland teams of years past), and we were,” Kirby said.
Through the non-district and tournament games, Castillo is beginning to see his Lady Rattlers’ confidence improve. There are still mistakes that occur during games that don’t usually happen in practice, he said. But much of that falls on first-year jitters.
With several new players, the Lady Rattlers are playing a slower pace than last year. Castillo is fine with it, he said. Garza and Jones were exceptionally faster on the court. But as the long as the players develop continuity and rhythm on the floor, he’s OK with the change.
“Like any team, you want them to mesh,” Castillo said. “Sometimes the frustration can contribute to your errors. But if we’re doing anything right now, it’s that we’re coming together. We’re fighting these battles and winning these battles.
“If we make four, five errors, we’re able to bounce back from it because the team is beginning to bond out there.”