CALEDONIA — Samantha Brooks loves to build.
Three seasons ago, Brooks took over as head coach of the Caledonia High School volleyball program with a stable of sophomores.
She realized at the time those players had the potential to help establish the foundation for a program.
The best thing about sophomores is they become juniors and then seniors.
Last season, Caledonia benefited from the maturation of those sophomores turned seniors, reaching the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class I state tournament.
Even though the Lady Confederates lost six seniors from the squad, Brooks and her players believe the pieces remain to equal or to improve on last season”s showing.
“We still have some players who have played for several years and I feel we have a good connection and I think they can do something,” Brooks said. “I think we will do something this year having that foundation with those girls.”
Brooks and Caledonia will get their first chance to see what they have today when they participate in the Set It Off Challenge in Jackson. The annual event features pool play today that also will feature Aberdeen, Starkville, and West Lowndes. The top teams in pool play will advance to Saturday.
For Brooks, the tournament is a great way to put her young team to the test immediately. Many of the players who will play key roles served as understudies to Kara von Kanel, Shaina Cruse, Kori Hankins, Stephanie Hopper, Whitney Pounders, and Sunnie Rushing last year.
Their roles will be different as Brooks searches for new leaders. She feels her five seniors, led by Ashley Dodson, Marlana Dolan, Macy Hicks, and Blaire Ruth, have the potential to do the job.
“We definitely have really good potential,” Dodson said. “Losing six varsity players obviously hurts us a lot, but we are trying to rebuild. We have sophomore playing varsity. We are trying to build the team back, and our goal is to go to states.”
Said Dolan, “We had a lot of experienced players on the team last year. They had been on the team since middle school. Now we have a lot of newbies, who have been on the team for two years and didn”t get a lot of playing time because of all of the experience we had last year. This is most of the players” first time playing all of the way around and getting in a lot at practice.”
Brooks believes Dolan will be one of the best setters in the area, while Dodson will be a weapon from the right side in the attack.
Brooks also said freshman Elisha Collins and Sarah Freeman also will provide punch at middle blocker.
“We have two big middles who have big shoes to fill, but they are going to come in and should do some damage, especially toward the end of the season,” Brooks said of Collins, who has played club ball, and Freeman, who is in her third year.
Dodson and Dolan feel the team has made significant strides since the summer. Their goal is to do what they can to keep a positive attitude and encourage the younger players. And while they want to close their high school careers with a statement, they also realize the development of the younger players will be even more important because they will be the ones who build on their achievements.
“I think we can only go up and build higher and higher and higher,” Dolan said. “We definitely have the potential. The girls we have this year learn very easily and catch on very quickly. They know how we do things, and I think we will get to our goal of getting to state this year.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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