Washington lost more than just the match against Bunn in the second round of the 2-A state playoffs last October. The 3-1 defeat marked the end of an era, one built around a core of five senior starters — Alexis Brooks, Abby Walker, Haley Hutchins, Adriana Tyson and Allison Brantley — who led the team to back-to-back 17-win seasons.

A loss of that magnitude would be a catastrophic hit to the state of most programs, but for the Pam Pack, the expectations have not changed. Returning are juniors Briley Waters and Sarah Lynch, two setters who received a significant amount of court time last season.

“Having two setters that know what they’re doing and are good at what they’re doing really helps the team and builds a foundation for the younger girls,” said head coach Kelly Slade. “If I had two returning players, I would absolutely want them to be the setters. The setters in volleyball are like quarterbacks in football. They come out here, run the show and call the plays. They really run the team when they’re on the court.”

As a sophomore, Lynch was the only underclassman in the starting six. As a supplement to powerful inside and outside hitters, she racked up 307 assists in 2014, leading the team and the county. Waters, also a sophomore, commonly swapped spots with Lynch in the rotation and set 283 assists and 34 aces.

This year, as the centerpieces of the Pam Pack lineup, they’re tasked with helping a young starting six develop cohesiveness and become more comfortable at the varsity level. Matching the offensive production Walker and Tyson generated is unlikely. Right now the goal is to spread around the scoring and concentrate on efficiency.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be one super power hitter like it’s been in years past,” Slade said. “All the girls are going to be contributors this year and it’s going to be more sharing the ball. I don’t think one person is going to jump out this year in the stat book. We’ll have a real well-rounded team of hitters, a lot of weapons in each spot.”

During Monday’s game against Southside, Washington’s balanced offensive approach was certainly on display. Hitters Caroline Mills and Meghan Moore, the latter who received a good amount of varsity playing time last season, hardly lit up the stat sheet, combining for six kills. But the pair limited mistakes and made smart decisions, which is exactly what the coaching staff is looking for this early in the season.

Despite the drastic change in philosophy and personnel, the goals have not changed. If anything, the expectations have increased.

“A successful season in my mind would be doing exactly what we did last year and better,” Slade said. “Even though I lost five starters, my goals are still the same. I still want to win the conference, I still want to win the conference tournament, I still want to go to the playoffs and the goal would be to go farther in the playoffs.”

The Pam Pack will get its toughest test of the young season when it travels to Riverside on Thursday. The Knights, coming off a 20-win season, are primed to once again be formidable.