Tina Hines’ decision to lead the Columbus High School volleyball team could give Terrica Jefferson the time she needs to become a beast.
It’s up to Jefferson to decide whether she can be a dominating force in the front row and then take that confidence to the basketball court later this year.
Jefferson showed Thursday she has the potential to be a force in the middle, registering seven kills in Columbus High’s 3-0 victory against New Hope. Set scores were 25-20, 25-10, 25-19.
“I have improved a lot,” said Jefferson, a senior. “Coach (Hines) has been extra hard on me. I am going to continue to improve and get better.”
While Jefferson is an experienced member of the program, Hines is in her first year as coach of the team. Hines played volleyball at Carbon Hill High School, which is between Winfield and Jasper off U.S. Highway 78 in West Alabama. She is working on her teaching degree at Mississippi University for Women.
Hines inquired last year about helping coach Columbus High volleyball and asked again this year when the program needed someone to replace former Mississippi State University player Kellye Jordan, who coached the team as a student teacher in 2011 and took another job out of state. Hines said she didn’t want the program to fold, so she stepped in and is focused on teaching the game and building a program. The first step came Thursday with her first win as the program’s coach.
“There has been a lot of improvement,” said Hines, whose team moved to 1-2. “We have learned to control the ball and to try to get hits.”
Hines said Jefferson and front-row player Deja Richardson have the potential to be key contributors. Those players are in a similar position as Jaitra Abrams was in last season. Abrams played volleyball at Columbus High and then worked with Tina Seals with Mississippi Juniors, a club volleyball program based in the Golden Triangle, and earned a volleyball scholarship in June to play at Snead State Community College in Boaz, Ala.
Jefferson has the potential to follow in Abrams’ footsteps. At 6-foot-1, Jefferson has the size and the agility to be an effective middle blocker. In the second set, she showed good timing at the net to kill an overpass. She also showed flexibility as she reached back with her right arm and went off one leg for another kill later in the set. Her eight-point serving run helped the Lady Falcons take a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Jefferson blocked Shanae Hunt to give Columbus its first point. She looked to take control on another joust at the net, but she made contact with the net to give New Hope the point. Despite touching the net, Jefferson was in mid-season form for basketball player disputing an official’s call, as she turned to the Columbus High bench with a surprised look on her face as if to say, “I didn’t touch the net.”
Jefferson understands she will have to play a bigger role on the basketball court this season. She said she intends to take the mind-set she is learning on the volleyball court and use it to her advantage in the paint come basketball season.
“It is coming this year,” Jefferson said. “We are going to do what we’re going to do and we’re going to the state championship and we’re going to win it all this year.”
Jefferson said playing volleyball is helping improve her footwork. The mind-set she is playing with as a senior showed signs of blossoming earlier this year in the Columbus High girls basketball team’s 53-49 loss to Horn Lake in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A North State semifinals. Jefferson had four points in a 16-0 run that Columbus used to get back into the game. She also played through a sore left ankle she had sprained late in the season to give Columbus a valuable inside presence. Jefferson knows she can be an even bigger threat in the paint this season, and she wants to continue that transformation on the volleyball court. She offered a glimpse of that in the third set, as she used a quick hop and turned her body to get into position to deliver a kill.
“You have to dominate whatever you do,” Jefferson said. “I am thinking get it done, win the game, help my team anyway possible, injuries and all.”
While Jefferson is learning how to dominate, New Hope coach Laura Lee Holman said learning how to play consistently in all facets of the game is the next step for her first-year program.
“We can’t get frustrated because we have two kids with experience,” Holman said. “It is kind of like going to watch a Tee-Ball game. One minute, the kid picks it up and throws it to first base. The next minute, he picks it up and throws it into the outfield. It is just a matter of us being in these situations enough to where we feel comfortable to make the play and not lose our composure in those back-and-forth moments. Once we find the consistency I think we’re going to be really, really good.”
New Hope (0-2) missed too many serves and couldn’t pass well enough off serve to set up an offense on a consistent basis. When the Lady Trojans handled serves, though, they showed they were capable of putting the ball away. Leigh Atkins had three kills in the first set and had one each in the last two sets, while Alaina Nickoles had two in the second set. Those plays were ones Holman hopes New Hope can use to give more experienced teams a stronger challenge.
“We just came out flat in that second game and couldn’t find a way to fight back,” Holman said. “In the other two games, we had those moments where we lost our composure, and when you play an experienced team like Columbus, they’re going to take advantage of those.”
Hines also is looking for the consistency. She said the Lady Falcons have worked hard on passing and are getting better every day.
“That has been the biggest issue and being able to teach them to get down low and have it deflect off their arms. We’re still working on it, and we’re getting better,” said Hines, who still plays volleyball as much as she can, especially with her 1-year-old daughter, Alexia Grace.
Jefferson has seen the hard work in the preseason and at practice pay off. She said she is anxious to be that force in the middle, whether it is on the volleyball court or in the paint, so she can become the beast she knows she can be.
“Motivation, determination, and dedication,” Jefferson said. “I am working hard. I am going to do what I got to do this year.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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