The Clayton varsity girls’ volleyball team is off to a decent start.  Even though the team has not performed unbelievably well, the team has a record to be proud of thanks in large part to the play of senior right side hitter and right side defender Maggie Lanter.

A three-year varsity member, Lanter knows her way around the court.

“I have started varsity since sophomore year, so I have become really accustomed to how the game will play out and the different aspects to the game,” Lanter said.

As a captain, Lanter has taken the younger members of the team under her wing this season on and off the court.

“Maggie is a dedicated player and great captain that always brings the team up when we are down,” junior defensive specialist Kaily Sciaratta.

In terms of her play on the court, Lanter has truly led the team, and her statistics back it up.  Lanter’s best game came against Lutheran North when she had seven blocks.

“I was hitting really well that night,” Lanter said.

On the season, Lanter is an 86 percent server, 25 percent hitter (which means that 25 percent of the time she hits the ball, the Hounds score), and a 69 percent serve receiver.

“I would say the best part of my game is my hitting,” Lanter said.

Even though she has played extremely well, Lanter still feels there is several aspects to her play that need to improve.

“I want to improve my blocking to be much more consistent,” Lanter said.

At the same time, the team too needs to make improvements.

“We need to improve on finishing the play, scoring the point by being more aggressive offensively,” Lanter said.

As the team has its places for improvement, they are also effective at other facets of the game.

“We are pretty effective servers,” Lanter said.

However, serving does not cover all aspects of the game, and even though Lanter has played well, the team’s record does not exactly show it.  However, at the same time, the team’s record does not truly reflect their play.

“Most of the games we lose are very close, so our record could easily be much different,” Lanter said.

The team has a chance to wipe the slate clean come districts, which are the week of Oct. 26.

“Districts will be tough because we are in one of the best districts in the state along with Villa Duchesne and Visitation Academy,” Lanter said.

In terms of the rest of the regular season, there are still some things left worth working for.

“I am really looking forward to the game against Bayless,” Lanter said.  “It’s our senior night and we played them a lot in the summer and they are pretty equally matched with us.  At the same time, their coach is really obnoxious so it would be nice to beat them.”

Even though there are only a couple weeks left before districts, volleyball fans still have several chances left to catch the team in action.  The team plays at Ladue on Oct. 19 and Oct. 21 at 4 as part of the Suburban East tournament.  The following week is the start of districts.

“I have had such a great time this season and I hope that people can make it out to a game in the next couple of weeks and come support the team,” Lanter said.