By ERIC VICCARO
bnewssports@gmail.com

For the third straight season, the Bowie High School volleyball team will open up with Archer City on Aug. 11.
Last year, the Lady Rabbits defeated Archer City here in Bowie. However, the Wildcats were the ones to play in the University Interscholastic League state tournament against nearby Lindsay.
This summer, as a means of betterment, Bowie has participated in the West Texas Summer Tour, and the Lady Rabbits have met with much success.
“I feel like the tour has benefitted us,” Bowie head coach Jeanie Stark said. “They’ve been playing together well, and that’s been a huge help. They’ve bonded. I think they are becoming a team.”
Stark said she will most likely run a 10-girl rotation this season, and most of the Lady Rabbits return. Cassie Caswell, Madeline Page, Brooke Reaves and Stephanie Clement have been lost to graduation.
Stark said it’s important to schedule a tough team like Archer City right away because “it’s a really intense match, there’s a lot riding on it.”
Before the season begins, there’s much work to do.
Bowie will play host to the Texas Advantage Volleyball (TAV) camp on July 23-24, which will feature two Lady Rabbit squads, two teams from Nocona, Conference 4A Iowa Park and Conference 2A Windthorst and Petrolia. Read more, and see the schedule, in the mid-week Bowie News in print or with your electronic subscription.

Bowie’s Taylor Thompson (left) sends the ball over the net during a match against Comanche in the West Texas Summer Tour from June. The volleyball team opens the regular season on the road at Archer City on Aug. 11. (News photo by Eric Viccaro)