Hampton-Dumont-CAL Volleyball Season Preview

With the 2025-2026 school year kicking off, high school fall sports seasons will be beginning within the next few weeks. Volleyball season for Hampton-Dumont-CAL (HDCAL) and many other schools kicks off with scrimmages this weekend on Saturday, August 16. The HDCAL Bulldogs will compete in scrimmages at Saint Ansgar this weekend, before hosting Belmond-Klemme for the first game of the regular season on Tuesday, August 19th at 7:00 p.m.

Under head coach Sarah Miller, the Bulldogs have improved their win total in every season since 2020. They went from two wins to three wins to five wins from 2020-2022. After going 11-23 in 2023, the Bulldogs improved to 17-12 last season, achieving their first winning season since 2010. The Bulldogs season came to an end with a loss versus Union Community in the region quarterfinals. Coach Miller spoke on what she thinks has led to the steady improvement for the program over the past few seasons.

"I think the biggest thing is really working on fundamentals and making sure that all of the girls understand the importance of that and how it's going to build upon their skills," Miller said. "Also understanding how important each team member is to the program. I want every girl to feel like they matter and that no matter if they're on the bench or on the court, they have a big impact on what our program can do."

Last season, the Bulldogs started hot, going 6-2 in their first eight games of the season. After going 4-5 over the next nine games, the Bulldogs finished the season strong, going 7-3 over the last 10 games of the season. The Bulldogs had a heavy senior class last season, with nine of the 14 players on the roster being seniors. With so much production and leadership not returning, it will be a challenge for the Bulldogs to continue the upward trend of the program. Coach Miller said it will be on the juniors to establish themselves as leaders this season.

"We will not have any seniors this year, so I feel there have been high expectations on the incoming juniors," Miller said. "I'm really going to be relying on those juniors That group has shown great leadership skills over the summer workouts, and I see a lot of maturity from them."

With a new season approaching and basically a new roster, the Bulldogs will look to continue the growth of the program and make a deeper run into the post season. The Bulldogs season kicks off versus Belmond-Klemme next Tuesday, August 19th at home at 7:00 p.m.