MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County volleyball team did not reach its goal of winning a first-round state playoff game this season, but the improvement the program has made the last two years has been impressive.

With Jess Patel (she was Jess Cohen her first season before marrying former Packer baseball player Gavin Patel) in charge, the Lady Packers went 21-16 in her first season in 2022 and 20-8 this year.

Over the last two seasons, Colquitt’s girls have notched the program’s first victories over Lee County, Valdosta, Veterans and Tift County.

This year’s third-place finish in the region tournament was a first, but it earned the Lady Packers a trip to Snellville to meet Brookwood in the first-round of the playoffs.

The Lady Broncos were 38-7 at the time and eliminated Colquitt in straight sets, 25-6, 25-18 and 25-12.

“Those scores don’t reflect how we played,” Patel said. “We had some long rallies, but we couldn’t finish at the end of some of them.”

Not getting by the first round did not diminish the accomplishments of the 2023 team.

Patel played high school volleyball at Etowah and competed collegiately at Kennesaw State and said she has never been a part of a team that had “the work ethic, communication, culture and drive that this team had.

“I’ve never seen a group of girls this passionate. I’d try to give them a day off and they’d still ask if they could get in the gym. These girls have been begging to get better. They really want to improve. That’s what made them so special.”

Colquitt lost eight senior players — Natalie Bryan, Jessie Blair, Claire Slocumb, Olivia Davis, Melanie Harp, Wynn Kinsey, Kate Summerlin and Jaina Turner — and managers Isela Garcia and Summer Allbrooks from a program that won 41 games in the last two seasons.

The first five Colquitt County volleyball teams combined to win just 29 times.

“It’s a gut-wrenching feeling,” she said of having to say good-bye to her seniors. “We built something up.”

The 2023 team also featured six All-Region 1-7A players: Kinsey, first team; Jessie Eunice, Reese Webb and Turner, second team; and Slocumb and Summerlin, honorable mention.

Eunice, a junior, and Webb, a freshman, will be back for the 2024 season, along with Juliette Turner, Nyasia Harper and Clara Newton.

Webb and Newton, also a freshman, could be pivotal players for the Colquitt County program, Patel said.

Next season will be what Patel calls a “restructuring year” with just five varsity players returning, but she said, “We’re going to be all right.

“We’ve got a lot of talent left, I mean a lot.”

Patel, who does not have an assistant, said she thinks the program is heading in the right direction and is receiving quality work from junior varsity coach Hilary Williams and middle school coach Megan Baker.

“Coach Williams knows how to coach and she is doing a great job,” Patel said. “And coach Baker is perfect for those younger girls.

“My long-term goal is to have a ninth-grade team too.”

A number of the girls are playing on travel teams to improve their skills in the off-season.

And the Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority is planning a youth program to run Nov. 13-Dec. 7 to help teach basic skills.

“We need to get more younger kids involved,” she said.

Patel has been pleased with the support the community has shown the last two seasons.

She has been especially impressed with the number of Colquitt County fans who accompany the team on road trips.

“Everywhere we go, we have more fans than the team we’re playing,” she said. “And the support from the athletic director and the principal has been unreal. They reach out to me and I know they have my back.”