Volleyball coach Janet Tate plopped a bag on the stage at Hixson High School -- the one with stars and the moon painted on the back wall. That reminded players that they should shoot for the stars.
She passed out jerseys.
"No. 1," she said, and Taytona Staten hopped down to get the gold jersey.
Paige Lawson dives for a return as she and other members of her Hixson High School volleyball team practice on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Hixson team will be making the school's first appearance in the state volleyball tournament on Wednesday. TSSAA State Volleyball Tournament
Local teams’ openers today (times EDT)Class AAHixson vs. Knoxville Catholic, 1:30Signal Mountain vs. Dyersburg, 3Class AAAOoltewah vs. Brentwood, 1:30Division II-AABaylor vs. St. Agnes, 1:30
No. 4," she said, and Paige Lawson grabbed her uniform.
"No. 33," Coach said, and Morghan White folded hers into a gym bag.
They're special uniforms.
"They're not new," Lawson said. "But they're nice."
Now is the perfect time for the Lady Wildcats to be looking good and feeling good. After all, they've been good on the court - better than any volleyball team in school history.
"We're not superstitious or anything," White said. "A jersey can't make you play better."
The Lady Wildcats will play at least twice more this season.
Now 38-13, they will be participating in the Class AA state tournament for the first time in school history when they face Knoxville Catholic today at 1:30 at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.
"We made history last year by making it to the sectional champion game last year," White said. "We made history this year by winning it and reaching state."
The next logical step in the progression of the program is winning a match or two - perhaps three - and claim a state championship.
"It's new," Staten said. "I know we're going to face good teams. So we have to stay focused and prepared."
The Lady Wildcats won the District 6 championship. They won the Region 3 championship. And they won the sectional that sent them to the state tournament.
"I think we can play anybody there," Lawson said. "We're in the same boat as everybody else."
The Lady Wildcats departed for Murfreesboro on Tuesday evening. But their march to the state tournament began long before that. This year, it began in July with long practices that focused on the basic and boring, but necessary, aspects of their fundamentals.
Really though, the seeds for success in 2015 were planted years before when the senior class, also including Bailey Burba and Haleigh Raber, began playing for the same squad.
They developed a chemistry on their side of the net. They meshed their athletic backgrounds with White bringing softball experiences and Staten bringing her basketball experiences and everybody else adding spice to the sauce.
It's an award-winning blend.
"They've brought a basketball mentality to this team, which means it's one-on-one," Tate said. "That also includes communication. In basketball, you want a teammate calling out a pick."
Communication, anticipation and trust have been key elements of this team all season. The girls may go their separate ways after practice most days, back to their own lives to do homework and relax at home. But when they're together, they're an unbreakable unit.
"You can tell when a girls' team has chemistry," White said. "I've been on teams where girls roll their eyes at each other."
Not this team. Not this year. They're looking toward the stars.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.