Salado Lady Eagles began volleyball practice Aug. 1 with 45 girls showing up for practice.

And one brand new baby boy. Elliott Shannon, just 11 days old, was with his mom, Heather Shannon who is the head coach of the Lady Eagles. Elliott joins Jeremy and Heath Shannon and Jeremy’s 10-year-daughter.

Four of the 45 girls were starters for Shannon last year. The Lady Eagles were 30-8 and 8-2 in district play and were the second place team in district 25-4A.

Returning starters include Brianna Washington, who will start her third year on Varsity. In 2015, she had 75 kills, 43 block, 24 assists and 54 digs. She received All-District Honorable Mention.

Kerrigan Hearne returns for her second year on Varsity. last year, she had 10 aces and 281 digs. Hearne was named to the All District First Team.

Lindy Martin also returns for her second year on varsity. She had 13 aces and 201 digs. Martin was named to the Second Team All-District.

Tori DeKay had 186 kills, 23 blocks and 80 digs. She returns for her second year on varsity. She also received Honorable Mention to the All District Team.

Shannon had six varsity players graduate in 2016, including four-year varsity starter Cheyenne Vaca, who was named as the District MVP last year. Other starters lost to graduation were Payton Dreitz, Malory Schattle and Kierstan Osborn.

The Lady Eagles will play  mostly familiar opponents in District 19-4A: Burnet, Lampasas, Liberty Hill, Llano and Taylor. Leander Glenn is a new addition to the district.

Salado starts the season on Aug. 8, hosting Troy with varsity at 6 p.m. District play starts Sept. 9 as the Lady Eagles will play in three tournaments during August.

Follow Salado Village Voice on Twitter (@saladovoice) for game reports and Facebook (/saladovillagevoice). Visit the newspaper’s online sports section (www.saladovillagevoice.com), where you will find sections dedicated to each sport, featuring up-to-date district standings, varsity, JV and freshman schedules, game reports, photo galleries of game action and a team roster of the girls.