Dayana Acevedo-Rios took the reins of the Odessa College volleyball program in the summer of 2021.
That left her little time to recruit after several players graduated and others followed former coach Kristi Gray to the University of Louisiana Lafayette.
Acevedo-Rios did her best in the short amount of time alloted before the season began in August, but the Lady Wranglers struggled.
Injuries and illness took their tool on the team, which at times had fewer than 10 players on the bench for any given match.
Fast forward to Thursday and Acevedo-Rios is in a much better spot.
So are the Lady Wranglers.
“I was able to go out and recruit much more,” she said before practice at the OC Sports Center. “We have 15 players on the roster and it was important to have depth.
“I think last year we didn’t have enough players to help and raise the level in practice. So it was hard when we got in the games we didn’t have that competition in practice because we didn’t have enough players.”
There is a bit of continuity for the Lady Wranglers as they look to improve on their 15-11 mark from a season ago.
A trio of players — outside hitters Ainara Fernandez and Myllena Torquetti of Belo Horizonte, Brazil and outside hitter Francesca Giovane of Novara, Italy — return for Odessa High.
That means a dozen new faces for the Lady Wranglers in Acevedo-Rios’ second season.
“This year, me and my assistants worked really hard in turning over the roster and bringing in different types of players,” Acevedo-Rios said. “We have dynamic players and we’ve got very strong and confident players.
“We’ve got very high IQ players and I think that, I’m excited about that.”
One of the new faces will be familiar to Permian Basin fans as Alyssa Vasquez of Andrews, an outside hitter/defensive specialist, returns close to home after beginning her collegiate career at Cedar Valley College last season.
She played in 27 matches and averaged 2.9 kills per set and 2.46 digs per set during her lone season in Lancaster.
Vasquez, at 5-foot-6, is also one of the shorter players on the team as Acevedo-Rios has 10 players taller than 5-foot-10, including four taller than six feet.
“They are pushing each other and I think that it makes it fun and it also makes my job very hard,” Acevedo-Rios said. “I think that we have the tools that we need to be very successful in conference.”
>> Follow Lee Scheide on Twitter at @OA_LeeScheide
