Pleasant Home volleyball coach Jerry Davis said he believes his team has a legitimate chance at advancing in the playoffs this year.

“This year, there actually is a goal out there we can accomplish,” Davis said. “The only thing these girls need to think about when they walk on that court is that they are supposed to win.”

The Lady Eagles, being in Class 1A, Area 2, are aligned with one other team — volleyball powerhouse Kinston.

“It’s just us and Kinston in our area,” he said. “We avoid Kinston and Providence in the early rounds (at regionals). If you win one match, than you’re going to advance to the next week.

“Since we don’t run into those two, I feel like there are going to be some other folks out there like us that have got a chance,” he said.

Right now, the Lady Eagles are sitting on a 3-7 record overall and an 0-2 record in Class 1A, Area 2.

They will face W.S. Neal on Thursday and Oct. 8 to close out the regular season before the area tournament in Kinston on Oct. 12-13.

Davis said, in order to be successful, his team must do the “basic two things.”

“This is what we’re working the hardest on right now,” Davis said. “We’ve got to get the serves in and we’ve got to get the other team’s serves up. If you can get that going, then there is a chance.

“If the ball keeps going in a momentum and if ours can’t get up, it’s just point after point after point,” he said. “So, all of our girls need to be capable of doing those two things.”

Defensively, Davis said his team would be relying more on the “routine” plays to help them in the postseason.

“Once you get in against those people that can hit the ball and have two or three girls that can dig it, then you’ve got to be good enough offensively that you can return the favor to them,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

Davis said his team has had their share of injuries and sickness during the regular season.

He said he is looking for Gina Davis and Brentin Fuller, his hitters, to have a good postseason.

“They’re going to have to play well at the net,” he said. “They are really the two that are capable of hitting for us. I think our setter Kaitlynn Brookshire is very good.

“You’ve got to be able to pass it to her for her to set the ball,” he said. “Passing is probably the hardest skill in volleyball.”