Lawrence High senior Katelyn Mask warms up with a partner at the start of camp on Thursday, June 22, 2017 at LHS.

Lawrence High’s volleyball players started their offseason when they held open gym workouts throughout the first two weeks of June.

But the summer had a different feel to it when they participated in their weeklong team camp, which concluded Friday at LHS.

With many more players at the team camp, the Lions filled the main and auxiliary gymnasiums and it gave them a sneak peek into the upcoming season.

“It’s always the best week of the year to have everybody in the gym and start looking at what the program is going to look like moving forward,” Lawrence coach Stephanie Magnuson said.

Lawrence High School volleyball coach Stephanie Magnuson watches over camp on Thursday, June 22, 2017 at LHS.

About 40 players showed up for the team camp, and the Lions went through a variety of drills and games each day.

Beyond everything that was accomplished on the court, one of the biggest benefits of the five-day camp is helping freshmen learn about the program and introduce themselves to older players.

“It’s good to get everyone in the gym,” LHS senior Katelyn Mask said. “We didn’t have a lot at first for open gym, but when camp came around, everyone knew about it and it was nice to have a full gym, having to spread out. It’s fun playing again with everyone.”

Lawrence ended last season with a 12-26 record, but there’s plenty of optimism entering the upcoming year.

The Lions featured several sophomore players in the varsity rotation last year, including Baylee Unruh, Lauren Maceli, Brooke Wroten and Laura Willoughby, among others, who are now older and more experienced.

Mask, Laurel Bird and Olivia Morgan highlight the team’s returning seniors.

“I’m definitely excited about the junior class below mine,” Bird said. “They have a lot of great fire, energy and determination that I really admire about them.”

Mask added: “It’s really exciting because I have high hopes for this season. We all know how we play. We get a chance to do it again and hopefully we’ll make it far.”

Along with all of the players preparing for the upcoming season, several former players attended the camp to assist Magnuson. It helps the Lions with more instruction on each court.

“I do reach out to them at the end of the year and let them know what the camp week is,” Magnuson said. “We always get a healthy group of alumni that come back. It means a lot to me personally to have them here and it says a lot about the program to have them coming back.”

Mask said the camp made it feel like school and the season were drawing closer. In the first three weeks of the offseason, the Lions are pleased with their progress.

“I feel better than I did, I guess, three weeks ago,” Bird said. “I think we still have a lot of room for improvement that we can do. We’ve already got better since open gyms have started.”