New coach, new era for Carbon Volleyball

Stroll through Carbon High School’s gymnasium during any early August morning and you won’t hear silence, at least not this summer.  
Inside the gym, you will find more than 30 Carbon volleyball players yelling with enthusiasm and helping one another through drills.
That energy is felt at some point each year as volleyball season begins but this year it is a little different and a little louder with new head coach Teresa Mower.
“The feel on the court is different and it is a good feeling,” said Carbon junior Abbie Saccomano.
Mower is no stranger, last season she was an assistant coach after taking time away from the game to mother four children.
In high school, she played on a four-time state championship team at Cokeville High in Wyoming.
There her team was ranked 17 in the country and had a 93-game winning streak.
She went on to play at Ricks College for two years.
As the head coach at Carbon, she is reinventing a program that has not won a state title since 2004 and hasn’t had a winning season since 2015.
Mower says it has been a challenge but she is relying on what she learned from her early days in Wyoming.
“Its been a challenge to implement my views and thought process of how I think a volleyball game should be practiced and played. Last year we started to implemented things a little bit but this year we really have hit it hard with drills and philosophies that I have played with my whole life,” said Mower.
The reception to the new coach and her coaching has been well received so far by the players, even those that are juniors and seniors who are now on their third coach in three years.
“I just love how positive she is, she just wants it so bad for us and that makes me as a player want it just as much she does. It makes me and other girls work so hard,” said Carbon senior Alex Milovich.
With her players already starting to buy into what Coach Mower wants from teams, Mower and the rest of the Dinos are expecting big things in 2018.
“There is no excuses this year. We have a great time and great vibe, these girls are ready to win and I am ready to win,” said Mower.
Mower isn’t hesitant to admit that the Dinos are aiming for a Region 14 title and making a run in the state playoffs even with a tough region schedule featuring Delta and Union.
“We are up for the challenge. As long as they know they can mentally do it, we are going to surprise some people. It is a new era for Carbon volleyball,” said Mower.
The new era of Carbon volleyball begins on Wednesday for the season opener and home opener against rival Emery.
Last season the Dinos were swept 3-0 by the Spartans in Emery.
Wednesday’s match will start at 6:30 p.m. inside the Carbon main gym.