SMITHVILLE — There is no doubt that the Smithville Lady Tigers volleyball team has had a tough ride the last couple of years, finishing last season with only two district wins.
However, a new head coach is coming in with the intention of shaking things up.
Kimberly Paisley, a 2001 graduate of Wimberley High School, who, with her help, won the state volleyball championship in 1999, is ready to stir up some competition in Smithville.
“The past doesn’t matter anymore,” Paisley said. “What matters is the future, and this season, I will make sure we won’t go down without a fight.”
Paisley said she has been around sports all of her life, playing volleyball, basketball and running track during high school.
Her love of kids and competition led her to receive a degree in kinesiology and minor in biology at Texas A&M-Kingsville, where she graduated in 2006.
After finishing college, Paisley  coached for four years at Alice High School, which is about 20 miles from Kingsville.
“At Alice, I was the assistant track and JV basketball coach,” she said.
Paisley said that after a while, she wanted to move closer to home to be near her parents, which is what brought her to Smithville.
“This is a great area — it’s so pretty up here,” she said. “So far, I’m adjusting very well and the girls seem to be getting more comfortable with me.”
Paisley said the varsity team is working really hard to overcome previous years’ obstacles and that she is already seeing some talent.
When asked what they are going to do about height this season, she said they will be relying on 6-foot-2 outside hitter Madison Hannusch, along with setter Colline Morrell.
“Colline is one of our many strengths,” Paisley said. “She plays bigger than what she is.”
She said the girls need to work on being more aggressive so some of the tough district teams, like Caldwell, will feel like they have to prepare from them.
“I definitely want to do better in district and making it to the playoffs would be awesome,” Paisley said.