&uot;The will to win,&uot; new Lakeland volleyball coach Teresa Kloeckner said to her team during practice, &uot;is not as important as the will to prepare to win. You have to put it all on the court here, and you have to put it all on the court during the game.&uot;

A native of Minnesota, Kloeckner played ball at South Dakota’s Sioux Falls University for four years and coached in the Junior Olympics before coming across the country.

&uot;I decided that I wanted to come to the East Coast,&uot; she said, &uot;and Suffolk seemed like a nice town.

&uot;We’re young and we’re new,&uot; she said of her team. &uot;It’s definitely going to be a rebuilding year, but we’re learning fast.&uot;

Her seniors hope to speed things up a bit.

&uot;I want to have a good season,&uot; said Laja Buckingham. &uot;I need to get my hitting up to par. Even though we’ve had some good teams, we haven’t won a lot of games.&uot;

&uot;We’ve got a new coach and new skills,&uot; said Cherelle Shelton. &uot;I’ll hopefully get a scholarship. (Kloeckner) has been everything we need. If we’ve got questions, she’s got answers to everything.&uot;

jason.norman@suffolknewsherald.com