Plenty of power
Strength conditioning has Merritt
Island feeling jumpy for season
BY MIKE CHERRY
FLORIDA TODAY
MERRITT ISLAND - The streaking,
title-grasping end of the 2006 season for Merritt Island High volleyball coach Angie
Patrick actually called for significant program evaluation.
Not that the dilemma was one as distasteful as a spike to the chops. In Patrick's case, the question was: How, with every starter back from her Cape Coast Conference and district title teams, could she alter offseason training to help an already proficient group refine rather than acquire skills?
The answer was turning to power as opposed to cardiovascular training.
"We never had a summer where we hit it this hard," Patrick said.
Merritt Island found a sponsor in Island Fitness and spent three days a week there working with various weights and equipment. There also was club volleyball, which means the players were receiving aerobic benefits. The team's players also used kick boxing as a summer training method.
The result, Patrick hopes, is that Merritt Island volleyball will be a powerhouse in part because the girls are mini-powerhouses.
"We haven't been doing as much conditioning," Mustangs senior hitter Crystal Niederriter said. "I really see a difference in the girls."
The strength work is intended to give the team quick bursts of energy for jumping and sprinting. Patrick said recent postseason matches with annual state power Cardinal Gibbons left an impression as far as the overall sculpted look of that program's girls. That is an appearance Patrick wants to see her talented team acquire.
"We are so much stronger at the end of the summer than from the beginning," senior hitter Katie Riley said.
Regardless, Merritt Island, 24-5 last season and winner of the CCC the past two seasons, will be Brevard County's public-school team to beat as volleyball's regular season begins this week.
Particularly after several stumbles in the early season, the Mustangs likely caught several teams by surprise late in the year, beating contenders Eau Gallie and Palm Bay in the final week to take the league title. That came a year after Merritt Island surged to No. 1 in the Class 4A state rankings before falling to Cardinal Gibbons in a five-game regional semifinal.
This season, Eau Gallie, despite the presence of talented setter Teri Lind, is recovering from heavy graduation losses. That is Palm Bay's case, as well. In fact, Patrick cited improving Astronaut as a rising program. Titusville, with 10 returning players from 2006's 11-6 club, is another team worth watching.
The depth of quality in Brevard appears better this season in the smaller classifications. Melbourne Central Catholic in 3A, Holy Trinity in 2A and Merritt Island Christian in 1A have enough players and talent back to consider them all squads that could make a serious postseason dents.
MCC, for instance, did not have a senior on its 2006 team that reached regional play. The Hustlers are led by junior setter Rachel Priester, senior defender Jules Vasquez and senior hitter Jourdan Sanscrainte. The potential problems for MCC are the same as last season: overall shortage of size and mighty John Carroll lurking in the same district.
"What we lack in size, we play in defense," MCC coach Bonnie Priester said.
In her 15th season as a Brevard high school volleyball coach, Priester has closed to within 24 wins of 300 in her career. She previously coached at Palm Bay.
Former MCC player Daniella Bragg has a long way to go to reach Priester's total considering the 25-year-old former college player is in just her second season as Holy Trinity's coach.
Yet Bragg commands a potential small-school power this year with 10 of the 12 letterwinners, including all starters, back from a 19-7 team. The Tigers feature strong hitters in senior Kaycee Anderson and sophomore Julia Swalchick. Holy Trinity flexed last week with a final-game win over Merritt Island at the latter's preseason tournament.
"They were a very, very raw team last year," Bragg said. "Now they understand. We're not starting over. We're at a high point."
No Brevard team advanced past the regional semifinals last season. That is one of Merritt Island's goals this season. With hitters like the 5-foot-11 Niederriter and 6-2 Riley, the Mustangs have size. They also have a proven setter in senior Anna Tournade and one of the area's best defenders in experienced junior Paula Passmore.
In addition, those kick-boxing skills mean the Mustangs could fight their way out of most hostile gyms. The real battle, therefore, could be with living up to the program's high expectations.
"It's like you don't want to let the previous year down," Tournade said.