CALEDONIA — It’s OK. Go ahead.
If members of the Caledonia High School volleyball team can say they’re short and their overall height leaves a little be desired, what’s stopping you from joining in and calling the Lady Confederates short, too?
After all, Tori Brooks, who is one of the “tallest” players on the team at 5-foot-9 says Caledonia is “short,” you know can’t go wrong.
But Caledonia makes up for its lack of size with a scrappiness that allows it to stay in points longer. Coupled with strong serving and a stingy defense, Caledonia has overcome its short stature to have another successful season.
Thanks to a second-place finish to Lafayette in Region 4, Caledonia (25-10) will go on the road to take on Region 1 champion New Albany on Thursday in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class II playoffs.
Caledonia coach Samantha Brooks, who is in her 11th season leading the program, said the Lady Confederates have used great team chemistry to fuel a 7-1 run in the region. Caledonia and Lafayette tied at 7-1 atop the region standings, but Lafayette took the title based on a tiebreaker.
Senior Bailie Cross is ranked No. 1 in the state of Mississippi in aces, according to MaxPreps.com. Sophomore Maddy Suggs is No. 5 in the state in digs, while sophomore Camryn Johnson is No. 11 in assists and Tori Brooks, who also is a sophomore, is 12th in kills.
Coach Brooks refers to Suggs, the team’s libero, or designated defensive player, as a “beast” because she has a knack for keeping balls off the floor. Suggs refrains from using the term “beast” to describe her play. Instead, she prefers to credit the teamwork the Lady Confederates have shown all season as a primary reason for their success.
“We have been united and we haven’t gotten down on each other on the court,” Suggs said. “I feel confident going into the playoffs that we’re still going to play together and play hard and keep positive attitudes throughout the whole game.”
Suggs feels she has done a good job passing the ball to Johnson, the team’s setter. She also feels her ability to be loud on the court has helped the team communicate and support each other.
Tori Brooks said that support has been crucial because the Lady Confederates have had to overcome injuries and illnesses, not to mention their lack of size.
Cross said the addition of players from the junior varsity program has sparked the offense. Still, she and her teammates acknowledge Caledonia’s defense has been a constant.
“Our offense has gotten a lot better,” Cross said. “Our defense is always good. We obviously have really short people, and we have always been a defense team, so our passing has been good for several seasons now.”
Cross said Caledonia has had to pass the ball so well because this is the shortest team she has been on since seventh grade. That might be a little bit of an exaggeration because it isn’t like the Lady Confederates have 5-foot-3 players playing in the front row.
Caledonia has excelled in other areas — like serving — to compensate for the lack of height. Strong passing and setting have been equally important as has been team unity. As much as it might sound like a cliche, that chemistry plays an important role in a fast-paced sport in which the players need to have a feel for each other and trust their teammates are going to be there to make a play.
“This past season has been the closest we have ever been,” Cross said. “Even when we weren’t the closest-knit team, we still didn’t have much drama. We still worked together on the court. If we had issues with each other of the court, we learned to leave it off the court.”
Johnson said Caledonia also has learned to live with shortness. She went as far as to call the team “really short,” but she added it won’t matter later this week because the Lady Confederates know how to succeed against taller teams. Cross said it best when she called the group “super scrappy.”
Coach Brooks takes pride in the fact her players have embraced their shortcomings and have excelled in spite of them. While things might be easier with taller players, Brooks said this year has been fun because the players have bonded and done it together.
“We have a really good group of parents that I think keep the drama at bay,” Brooks said. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, so that helps. That carries on to the girls. They all have a lot of spirit and rally good chemistry this year. With them being short this year, they have had to go the extra mile, and they have really risen to the occasion.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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