KFDM COOP Posted October 18, 2008 Report Posted October 18, 2008 Sheppard, Lady Bears rely on defense Van Wade The Orange Leader LTTLE CYPRESS — It’s been a banner 2008 season for the Little Cypress-Mauriceville senior Shayna Sheppard and her Lady Bear volleyball teammates. The only thing that will make it even sweeter is for them to hand a District 20-4A championship “banner†in the Bear Cave. No doubt about it, Sheppard and the Lady Bears control their own destiny this upcoming week. The Lady Bears (24-8), currently 11-1 in 20-4A play, hold a half-game lead on second-place Beaumont Ozen (10-1) and a one-game cushion over Port Neches-Groves (10-2) heading into the final week of the regular season. The Lady Bears host Lumberton (4-7) Tuesday on Senior Night and then hit the road Friday to face Ozen at 4:30 p.m. Ozen defeated LC-M in the first half of district play. “We know what’s in store for us this week,†said Sheppard. “This is where we wanted to be before the season started. If we go out and perform like we’re capable of, we can bring home the district title.†Ozen still has three matches left, including at PN-G Tuesday and fourth place Nederland (5-6) as well. PN-G has Ozen and Beaumont Central left on its schedule. PN-G crawled back in the picture earlier last week by taking down Ozen in five games. On Friday night PN-G squeaked past Lumberton in five more grueling games. “Us, Ozen and PN-G are at the top right now, but you can’t take anyone lightly,†said Sheppard. “Lumberton is a tough team. We can’t overlook them Tuesday, thinking about Ozen. I think we’ll be fine. We’ll be pumped up for Senior Night, plus for us seniors, it’s our last home game we’ll play.†Long-time Lady Bear coach Vicki Castino likes the mindset of the Lady Bears. “Tuesday is a big match for us,†said Castino. “Lumberton is very competitive and they’re still in the hunt for that fourth-place playoff spot. The kids will be ready to play, they’ve done it all year. They just need to concentrate and do their jobs and we’ll be just fine.†Castino realizes the tough week ahead for the Lady Bears. “Our kids have a lot of focus and they know what’s in front of them, a very good Lumberton team and an Ozen team that they’ve lost to twice,†said Castino. “We had 62 errors when Ozen beat us here and the kids are determined not to let that happen again.†Sheppard may not fill up the stat sheet as far as kills and blocks go. However, her defensive effort has been monumental for the Lady Bears all season long. Sheppard was 20-4A’s Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. However, she’s been even better her senior year.“Shayna is one of those kids that gets to every ball, throwing her body on the line each and every time,†said Castino. “She’s someone that the other kids get inspiration from. She has tremendous work habits. When you look at us, our offense is pretty good but it’s been our defense that has led us a long way.†Sheppard agrees. “We like to say that offense sells tickets, defense wins championships,†said Sheppard. “We knew that our defense was a way to get us where we’re at now. You have to sell it to yourself that you’ve got to sacrifice a lot of yourself to have a good defensive team. We take pride in that. Carly (Gauthier) and Brittany (Wiegand), two of my senior buddies, play awesome defense too. It’s just hard to get anything past us.†Sheppard helped the lady Bears to the area round of the playoffs, this year she has bigger goals. “It’s been a great senior year,†said Sheppard. “We really have a blast together as a team. Coach C (Castino) is a great coach to play for. Winning district is always a top goal but we really want to make a longer run in the playoffs this time. We really think we have the team that can do it.â€
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