VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW: Park Hill South ready for another solid season

Park Hill South’s volleyball program has been able to continuously reload year after year since the school opened well over a decade ago. The 2011 will be no different as they look to imitate, if not exceed, their 24-6-4 record from last year which included an undefeated 12-0 conference championship. Head coach Debbie Fay says there are certain things required to be a part of her team and stepping up is just one of them.

“At South we teach all our players to be ready to fill shoes the next year,” Fay said. “We have a level of play that is expected and a work ethic that is hopefully improved upon each year they are in the program. It helps to be consistent and to not settle.”

With that in mind, the Panthers will be replacing two seniors coming into this season. Returning are two key pieces to last year’s team: the sole senior, middle hitter Emma Hagedorn who lead the team in blocks while second in kills last year and junior Tori Kerr who led the team in kills. Fay says Kerr is one of, if not, the hardest workers on the team as she never takes a play off and that Hagedorn has taken her skills to a new level in addition to being a positive reinforcement for younger players.

Joining them in the active varsity rotation will be Ashton Anderson, Claire Friedlund, Skylar German, Lindsey Yager, and Emma Eickhoff. There will be some other athletes that will fit in the mix as well and Fay admits it is nice to have more depth than usual this season. Together they’ll be looking to defend and repeat as conference champions and avenge a district title game loss in which Winnetonka defeated South on their home court in two games.

While South has proven they are an annual contender, Fay says the individual players and how a team bonds together can make a difference.

“Teammates matter and you have to play to make your teammates shine,” Fay said. “Then and only then do you have the best opportunity to reach your goals.”

A simple, but tough adage to stick to for Park Hill South will be ‘win the games we’re supposed to’. They’ll refer to this as they battle local competitors Liberty, Staley, and two rematches with Winnetonka and use back to back weekend tournaments at Fort Osage and Truman in October to gear up for what they hope is a run through districts and into the Missouri state playoffs.