It’s been a busy opening week for the Lake Travis volleyball team with 68 girls trying out to be a part of one of the top 4A programs in Texas, if not the nation.

The Lady Cavaliers open the season ranked No. 1 in 4A (and No. 3 nationally in one poll) and will face the same team that ended its 46-4 2009 campaign – Seguin.

“The Seguin loss was hard for us. We took it hard, and we’ve got nine girls back from that team that remember how tough it was to take,” Lake Travis head coach Julie Green said. “We didn’t feel like we played well. We didn’t lose a lot last year, and the majority of them were games where we were outplayed. It left a bad taste in our mouth. It’s not a personal vendetta, it’s just the closest thing to a do-over we can have. We don’t hang and harp on Seguin, but this gives a chance to have some closure and put it behind us. It’s a great way to start the season and gives a reason to be fired up from the start.”

In the meantime, Green and her staff are working on whittling down the group they have to 50 total players that will reach from varsity down to the freshman level.

“The kids are working hard. I’m very pleased with our turnout, it’s been extremely competitive and the kids are really talented,” Green said. “That makes our decisions a lot more difficult. That’s a tough decision that every coach would like to have, though.”

But a decision that’s never fun.

“It is incredibly difficult to make these decisions because I care about each of these girls,” Green said. “However, at the end of the day it is a competition. It’s what makes us better. Everyone has to compete every day for a spot in the program and a spot on the team. That said, cuts are the one day during the season I dread the most.”

It’s a process that’s left her with getting very little sleep at night, followed by her 5 a.m. arrival at the gym. But it’s worth it to Green.

“We’ve had a countdown since we lost in the regional final. So we’ve been counting for almost 300 days,” she said. “We’re excited to get back to work. This is what I love doing, so the tired part doesn’t matter.”