Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Nederland volleyball team has four games left in the season before playoffs start in November.

The Bulldogs entered the week coming off a sweep of Port Neches-Groves and sit at third place in the district.

During an interview with Coach Allie Crommett for a check-in with the team, she mentioned how tough it was for her team to claw their way back into a recent contest with Baytown Sterling.

Crommett talked about how loud the crowd was in Baytown.

“The atmosphere over there was very loud,” Crommett said. “There was a lot of yelling. It was kind of hard to focus.”

Nederland has two more district home games left on the schedule before playoffs. The Bulldogs are the third seed and trying to stave off Crosby, who is in fourth place.

That makes Nederland’s game against Crosby on the road Friday important. Given the two teams’ schedules the rest of the way, Nederland will also likely need to win against Barbers Hill at home Oct. 25. The Bulldogs also host Baytown Lee Tuesday.

It would be cool to have that Barbers Hill team talk about how loud and intimidating the Nederland crowd is.

I have seen a packed crowd in the Dog Dome for big volleyball matches and basketball games. It can get intense. That is how it should be the rest of the way for this volleyball team, which has fought hard all season.

“We try to always tell them that they can only control what they can control,” Crommett said. “We tell them they can’t be frazzled by the atmosphere, but you can’t say the atmosphere doesn’t change the aspect of the game, or even the energy. When we went to Sterling, they had organization night. It was loud and very intense. People were yelling. It makes your intensity higher.”

Crommett said the game against Barbers Hill will be middle school night and added the student council will be present, as well.

“I am just hoping we can pull a lot of fans in and that can help us a little bit,” she said.

The team has battled adversity all season. Nederland graduated a large senior class last year, but entering the season, Crommett maintained high hopes for the group. The team started the season 1-7 after opting to participate in tougher tournaments. The competition paid off, as the Bulldogs are close to punching their playoff ticket.

Hopefully, the team has the extra attendance to help close out the season the right way.

Chris Moore is the sports editor for Port Arthur Newsmedia. He can be reached at chris.moore@panews.com.