Regional semifinalists enter rebuilding
mode The coaches of last season's most successful local high school volleyball teams admit something has been added to the 2006 mix for their respective teams. Coaching. "It's definitely a harder year to coach," Merritt Island High's Angie Patrick said. "But it's fun to see them make gains and accomplishments. Last year, the girls seemed to be on auto-pilot." A Class 4A participant, Merritt Island was the largest of the three local schools that advanced to regional semifinal play last fall. The Mustangs, in fact, finished 25-3 and spent part of the season ranked as Florida's top team in that classification. Patrick, however, lost seven seniors from that squad. Heavy losses also hit the other regional semifinalists, 3A Melbourne Central Catholic (24-4 last season) and 1A Merritt Island Christian (21-6). All started their altered-roster 2006 seasons last week, the first of the regular season for Sunshine State volleyball squads. The results were mixed. Merritt Island defeated smaller MIC in three games in the Mustangs' lone opening-week match. MIC also fell to Pine Castle Christian for an 0-2 start. "I felt both teams were a little better than us, but we played with them in all but the last games," third-season MIC coach Laurie Haines said. "We ran out of gas and we really don't have a bench to replace them." Despite having no seniors, MCC started well, defeating both St. Edward's and Holy Trinity. The Hustlers will be tested Tuesday when they travel to Merritt Island for a 7 p.m. match. The same night, MIC hosts Holy Trinity. "I have seven new kids on the varsity," MCC coach Bonnie Priester said. "I had a lot of shaping and molding to do. I think people will be amazed at how we defend." Absent from the Hustlers is four-year starter Julie Priester, Bonnie's daughter. Into Julie's setter position rushed the final Priester, sophomore Rachel. "She learned a lot from Julie's senior year," Bonnie Priester said. MCC juniors Jamee Gabbard, Jules Vasquez and Jourdan Sanscrainte are each two-year letterwinners. Despite the losses of talented players such as Megan Walden, Stephanie Merek, Jessica Figler and Alana Staples, Merritt Island returned experienced performers such as junior blocker Crystal Niederriter and talented sophomore Paula Passmore. The Mustangs have just one senior starter, but the roster contains nine juniors. "We're just focusing on getting really good at a few things instead of mediocre at a lot of things," said Patrick, who is entering her fourth year in with program. "We're not running a real fast-paced offensive system." Several miles south of Merritt Island's campus, Haines is dealing with the loss of a trio of three-year starters: Megan Deen, Rachel Paulk and setter Stephanie Campbell. Two freshmen start and the varsity roster is full of sophomores in the absences of eight 2005 seniors. Haines is building around the sister pair of senior Jessica and freshman Stephanie Quinn. The Cougars might be shorter in height, but not in program-related enthusiasm. Tryouts this year attracted 33 candidates at the small school. "Their (past) success has generated a lot of interest in the younger girls," Haines said. Other local teams that reached regional first-round matches last season were Palm Bay (6A), Melbourne (6A), Sebastian River (5A), Satellite (5A), Cocoa Beach (4A) and Temple Christian (1A). Contact Cherry at 242-3684 or [email protected] |