Building a winning program starts with believing in what is possible, and Head Volleyball Coach Todd Daugherty watched that belief take shape at Monterey. Through a culture centered on encouragement, accountability and daily commitment, the Lady Wildcats reached a new milestone and established a foundation for the program’s future.
The Monterey Lady Wildcats volleyball team achieved a historic milestone this season by securing 16 wins, the highest total in the history of the program.
Daugherty said the success of the record-breaking season stemmed from the players’ belief in their own potential. Daugherty said the coaching staff focused on creating a positive environment that prioritized growth, optimism, and hard work.
“Well, I think it’s less about what I did and more about what the girls believed they could do and that started with them just being encouraged and being placed into a positive environment,” Daugherty said. ” As coaches we try to facilitate an environment that promotes growth and encouragement and optimism.”
Daugherty said the team had to balance the patience required for long-term development with a sense of urgency to compete at a high level. Daugherty said senior outside hitter Rachel Schliter served as a primary example of this balance by pushing herself to reach the necessary level of play for the team to remain competitive.
“We need to be nice and encouraging to each other as we’re growing and learning and being patient with each other as one thing but also it’s there is a sense of urgency where we need to get better and both of those things working in tandem, that’s what creates a good team,” Daugherty said.
Daugherty said the team intentionally scheduled difficult opponents, including 3A schools, to provide the players with valuable lessons. Daugherty said these early season losses served as teachers that helped the team aspire to higher standards throughout the seven-week schedule.
“If we take that loss for what it is and gain the lessons from it, it can be a better teacher than actually just winning a ton of games,” Daugherty said. “That’s kind of what we went after when we scheduled our season.”
Daugherty said a turning point occurred during a five-set match against Clay County where the Lady Wildcats trailed 13-9 in the final set. Daugherty said the team refused to quit and eventually won the set 16-14, proving they could fight through adversity.
“When we won 16-14, that kind of clicked in my head, we’re not out until we’re out,” Daugherty said. “Nothing counts us out until the last whistle blows. So it was pretty neat to see that I knew that our girls had some fight in them that I had not seen before.”
Daugherty said the season was defined by the daily commitment of the 19 players on the junior varsity and varsity rosters. Daugherty said that while the team finished third in the district and missed the region tournament, the accomplishment remains significant for such a young group.
“Commitment is not a singular decision that happens at the very beginning of the season,” Daugherty said. “Commitment is the decision that happens daily to show up, to do the work, to practice hard, to play hard.”
The Lady Wildcats finished the season with an overall record of 16-13.
