2018 SFA Senior Tributes

For each of the last three seasons, I have ended the year with a post summarizing my recollections about some of the conferences' most memorable seniors.  This is the fourth year of jotting down these senior tributes, but in 2018 I am going to separate the SFA seniors from those from around the league.  This season was particularly special to SFA Volleyball and so there will be two "senior tribute" posts this December; this first one dedicated to our four seniors that led our club so well during the year.  Later in the week, we will go around the league for stories and memories associated with various players that I crossed paths with during their Southland seasons.

For now, enjoy these four SFA senior tributes.  Before beginning, I should also give a huge shout out to each of these four ladies' families.  Behind every one of these athletes are parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and extended family that have been so supportive to both myself and the team.  Your dedication to your special athlete on this list and your friendship to me is not overlooked.  Thanks to each of you for all of the conversations and encouragement.

Haley Coleman

There were years when in my boldness I would ask head coach Debbie Humphreys when the next big scoring left-side attacker was going to show up on campus.  Many a good volleyball club of years gone by had dominating middles ,right-side attackers and nimble liberos, but when 2015 rolled around, Haley Coleman was suggested as being the silencer of my concerns.  I read her high school bio.  'Decorated and surely skilled', I thought, but 5'9"?  This is our left-side go-to hitter?  Then, I saw her in practice as a freshman.  Specifically, I saw her jump.  What an athlete.  I have known fewer disciplined players than Haley Coleman during my years of association with Ladyjack Volleyball.  You can read the outgoing bio like I read the high school one.  Sure, sure, you'll find all the accolades: conference honors, player of the week, academic awards, etc.  They piled up like laundry on a freshman's dorm room floor.  Her last two years at SFA, she was consistently seen as one of the top two or three outside hitters in the Southland Conference.  But, what you won't see in the box scores and online articles like this one is character.  Class.  Dare I even suggest, elegance.  Haley Coleman plays an elegant style of volleyball and her character also reflects this rather unique refined and subtle trait.  She holds herself to a high standard and the results have followed.

Haley Coleman is one of the best outside hitters our program has seen over the last decade.  She finishes with over 1000 career points, 2.16 kills per set, 919 kills, 1147 digs (2.70 digs/set) and 96 aces.  I had the personal good fortune of having Coleman in a summer class.  She was one of the very best students I taught that entire academic year.  One story I'll never forget about Haley took place on the road at UIW during her sophomore year.  I went back and looked it up.  Abby McIntyre went bananas that day and had 17 kills, but Coleman chipped in 15 digs, so I thought I'd go interview Haley for post-match comments.  My six questions elicited about a dozen total words with three or four answers being of the "Yep" or "Sure" variety.  The interview was over and she ran to the bus and I was left staring at my recorder telling me that I had a 1 minute 14 second interview to go post.  I realized later on that it wasn't that she was aloof, but rather that she genuinely didn't focus on how good she was.  She didn't get excited to talk about herself like almost all of the rest of the human race does.  Somewhere along the way, Coleman mastered this steady, anchored personality that served her so well on the court for four years.

Coleman recently applied for physical therapy school and I graciously accepted the request to write her a recommendation.  At her senior day, she skirted up beside me at one point and with the smile of someone much younger than her age announced that she had been accepted.  It was a short communication of an accomplishment that wasn't coupled with a long conversation following.  It was simple and filled with a genuine spirit.  That's Haley Coleman.  Gosh, am I glad I got to watch her play. She leaves SFA having made quite the impression on me and most everyone else she came in contact with.

2018 Coleman & Redmond Senior Interview
Coleman After a Win versus Northwestern State in 2017

Peyton Redmond

Near the end of the 2018 season more and more people would ask me (including Karch Kiraly!) what I thought was different about this team versus those of recent years.  Why was it that this team was able to have such success?  My standard answer in November became "Peyton Redmond".  I'm just going to lay it out there:  SFA doesn't win the Southland Conference Tournament and doesn't play in the NCAA's unless Redmond has the 2018 season that she did.  I told her this several times down the stretch and it wasn't just a "rah-rah speech".  I honestly believe this.  Look, I think everyone understood that our highlight reel players were Daron, Coleman and Hollas.  Makenzee Hanna and Anyia Williams also had matches that made your head spin.  But, take Peyton Redmond out of the equation and I just don't see this team as 32-3.

Across the board, Redmond's numbers spiked in her senior season.  Her 280 kills were a career high, as were her 782 attacks, 26 aces and 43 blocks.  One of the best passers in serve receive the team has had over the last few years, I always felt as though if the libero position ever went in the tank (thankfully, it hasn't for some time now), Redmond could handle playing there.  Shoot, I wasn't even convinced Redmond would hold down her starting spot when 2018 began.  Her junior year numbers took a step back from 2016 when she arrived on campus and dug up over 300 balls.  You can go back and read my early articles mentioning  how nice it will be to have someone this good coming off the bench if needed.  Yeah, so that's NOT what happened.  Redmond was really impressive and due to the nomination process for all-conference honors, she got lost in the shuffle of all of our other great contributors.  To me, Redmond deserves an honorable mention for her "glue piece "role on this 2018 squad.

Redmond was anything but overconfident.  Many times she'd play down the praise I'd give her.  A few times she'd even go so far as to say that she "needed to hear" the positive comments I, or others, would throw her after a match.  There was always a tinge of hesitance in her voice about her contributions, and I would always walk away thinking she didn't realize how important she was.  Peyton Redmond was VERY important.  Her steadiness blew me away at times.  You may not have noticed, but Redmond lingered on the edge of the Southland Top 20 in both kills per set and digs per set the entire season.  You could literally count on one hand the number of outside hitters for which that was true in our conference.  In three years, she amassed 738 digs (which is equivalent to just shy of 1000 for a four year extrapolation) and 517 kills.  Her final dig per set number checks in at 2.49 d/s.

I'm a huge fan of all of our players, but I have to admit:  Peyton Redmond was probably my favorite Ladyjack of 2018.

2018 Redmond & Coleman Senior Interview
Redmond at End of 2017 Regular Season

Makenzee Hanna

Over her final two seasons in Ladyjack purple, Hanna averaged right at 300 points per year, hit .308 and put up .99 blocks per set (230 blocks in 232 sets). Wow.  During 2018, she led all right-sides in the Southland Conference in blocks per set and when coupled with our middle blockers, I have no idea why anyone would try and hit through, around or against that double-team.  Makenzee is one of those players that just had a moment in her career where things just clicked.  To me, that was half way through her tenure at SFA.  She got to play more her junior season and she was ready, putting up a career high 116 blocks.  Going in to 2018, there was little question Hanna was going to be an instrumental centerpiece to the club.  I can't tell you how many times this season I would be conversing with opposing coaches about defending our offense and they would begin to talk about our middles, or Coleman and then say "Oh, and then you have worry about Hanna on the right, too".  Their face would always sulk as if it was too much to worry with.  It was like planning to defend her was a wrench in whatever plan the opposition would come up with. 

Makenzee made this offense complete - as in completely dominant.   A lot of good offenses have a primary left-side scorer and a threat in the middle, but Hanna gave us an option all the way across the net.  A highly efficient option.  Go back and look at those cumulative stats over the last two years.  In 232 upperclassman sets, Hanna committed only 110 errors.  That's not even a rate of an error every TWO SETS!  Incredible.  No, that's just flat out ridiculous. How would you like to be preparing to defend first-team all conference studs Haley Coleman and Danae Daron and then get struck with the problem of having to contain an attacker that you can force into an error roughly once every two sets?

Of course, it's not just the Mak Attack on offense.  Her defense was consistently steady across all four years on the court.  She finishes her career with 345 blocks (.92 blocks/set) while splitting time in the middle and on the right.  That final tally falls just shy of cracking the Top 10 all-time at SFA (Kristy Rhodes, 387). The same is true with her blocks per set numbers as well.

One of the things that really got me thinking about how dedicated Makenzee Hanna was to both athletics and academics is the story of her commute to Grace Preparatory Academy from DeSoto during her later high school years. Grace Prep is in south Arlington, a good 25 miles away from where Hanna lived.  The high school used the college scheduling model for courses and so some days Hanna would shuttle back and forth from DeSoto to Arlington and other days, Hanna would be at home studying.  The overall family commitment to make such a structure work was always impressive to me.  I've mentioned it before in other articles, but another thing I will always remember about Mak is her awareness of others around her.  Many days the first 'hello' I would hear when walking into the gym - at home or on the road - was from Mak. Some people are self-absorbed.  Other people - like Makenzee Hanna - have a sense that teamwork extends beyond the jersey.  Sure, players and coaches earn the wins and trophies, but I always felt appreciated by Makenzee and I'll treasure that and use it to spur me on when feeling marginalized.  Makenzee has the gift of making others feel important.

Oh, and that foot kill... who could ever forget that SportsCenter Top 10 foot kill?  Epic.

2018 Hanna Senior Interview
Hanna After 'Jacks Win 2018 SLC Tournament

McKenzie Brewer

Alright, I'm not going to write this one the way you think I might.  Here's what I believe:  I think a lot of people in her shoes would have walked away.  People that are not close to collegiate athletes have no idea - I mean, NO IDEA, how much time, effort and dedication it takes to play sports at this level.  They don't think about the endless workouts, the off-season training, the bus rides, the nights returning to campus at 3 AM, the weight room sessions before dawn and the list goes on and on.  So, when a backup setter doesn't get in to even half of her teams' sets during the first two years of all that, what would be the natural thing to think? It is worth it?  Should I keep doing this?  Why am I even here?  Do I still love this game enough to subject myself to this?  Now, I don't know - maybe, McKenzie Brewer never ask herself even one of those questions during her time at SFA, but I wouldn't fault her one moment if she did.  Being a setter is tough.  Being a setter at SFA is particularly tough.

But, how about this story, huh?  Setter relegated to backup duty finishes career with 1225 assists and co-directs an offense that goes 32-3 and plays in the NCAA tournament?  Talk about a senior memory!  Of all the senior profiles, Brew's is the one I hope all the incoming freshman familiarize themselves with.  THIS is why you stick things out and persevere.  So you can have half the chance to tell all the stories that Brewer gets to tell for the rest of her life.  Sure, Ann Hollas won Setter of the Year, and she deserved it.  But in reality, isn't that award also a trickle down accolade for Brewer?  Part of what made Hollas so unique in 2018 was her total contribution:  assists, kills, digs.  But, who is making some of that possible?  Brewer.

Why are 5-1 offenses more prevalent than 6-2's?  Because you need more people to be effective to run a two setter offense.  There is more to go wrong - more moving parts, more to juggle.  You know how many times I  heard anyone discuss shifting our scheme back to a 5-1 during this season?  How about zero. Oh,  there were occasional days where one of the setters was off and it crossed coaches, fans and my own minds', but in terms of seriously contemplating a definitive structural switch?  It didn't happen.  Brewer gets a TON of credit for the 2018 team success and her leadership was instrumental in our run to the postseason.

Sure, everyone will remember Brew for her humor and laugh.  Teams NEED players like McKenzie Brewer.  Not just as leaders, but as the person who can take the edge off the stress at appropriate moments.  Oh, and how about that serve?  Didn't it seem like every one of Brewer's career 58 aces came at just the right time?  Those two aces against Texas early in Sets 1 and 2 still play over and over in my mind.  So will the career high five-ace match against HBU in the second round of the SLC Tournament.  Check out this stat:  Brewer put up an ace in each of her last 6 career matches and had at least one in nine of her last ten contests.  In the postseason this year, she averaged .85 aces per set.  By way of comparison, half of that rate would easily lead the Southland Conference for the year.

It's one thing to push through the difficulties of being a NCAA D1 athlete when your face is on the schedule card or name is on the leaderboard.  It's another thing to bide your time waiting for your moment to shine - especially when that takes years.  Wear that ring proudly, Brew.  You got the last laugh.

2018 Brewer Senior Interview
Brewer After 1000th Career Assist at SLU

2018 Senior Interviews: Haley Coleman and Peyton Redmond

We've now had a chance to chat with each of our four seniors this year.  Here's a link to each of the interviews:

Haley Coleman and Peyton Redmond

McKenzie Brewer

Makenzee Hanna


Haley Coleman has become a star in this league.  She goes into her senior season with as much a chance to earn Player of the Year honors as anyone in the Southland Conference.  In terms of media types like me, Coleman's not a big talker.  I'll forever remember a "painful" interview after a match at Incarnate Word in which I had about six questions for her and she echoed with about six words for me.  But, don't let that fool you.  Haley is quite conversational one-on-one outside the camera eye or microphone's range.  Plus, she's super smart.  As in, highly intelligent smart.  I've always found this interesting : When you watch the team walk off the bus, you wouldn't guess she's the star outside hitter.  She loves to have fun on the court but carries herself with virtually no swagger and just isn't the type to call attention to herself.  That doesn't matter. After the match is done and it's time to get back on the bus everyone who was in the gym that night knows who's boss. Coleman is outstandingly fit.  All of these athletes tend to keep themselves in prime shape, but Haley has been disciplined in this area for her entire time in Ladyjack purple.  She's an example of how to care for one's self as a NCAA Division 1 athlete.  She gets the absolute most out of her 5'9" frame and when it is all said and done, I think she'll be remembered as one of the best and most unique outside hitters we've had at SFA over the last 10-20 years.

In the Coleman/Redmond interview, Peyton straightforwardly states she doesn't "want to come out" of matches.  I asked at one point about her strong suit (ball control) and then follow it up with whether or not she ever feels slighted as a hitter since the focus tends to be on her back row skills.  I didn't expect such a strong response.  I mean, I know every athlete wants to play every point, but I think Redmond has really asserted herself of late.  She's definitely locked in on trying to play a consistent all-rotation game and stay on the floor.  In the Memphis tournament, Redmond played six rotations against the two toughest opponents.  At least in the early going, she seems to be the favorite for playing time in the second outside hitter slot.  I can get the logic.  The more Redmond stays on the floor - the more stable first touch can be for the SFA offense.  This may weigh in coaches' minds as we are still settling into libero/DS usage with the freshmen. Watch the attack percentages.  Sure, she'll have to hit a lot of junk balls and back row shots.  But if she can hit a more typical .180-.190 for this role, then there may be no reason to relegate her to just back row duties.  At least for one weekend, the formula seemed fine.  Peyton has been a solid contributor all three years she's played for us. She's had a good volleyball career to this point. It will be interesting to see if there are substantial steps she can take forward in her swan song season.

Returning and Emerging

This post is the second of three that introduces you to the 2018 SFA Volleyball cast and also sheds some light on how the pieces might come together on the floor.  The first part of this series “Four on the Floor” took a look at four of the core Ladyjack players that will defend their 2018 regular season Southland Conference championship.

Today we’ll focus on the returning athletes that complement the core and then in the final installment of this series we will introduce you to the newcomers.  As a reminder of where we stand, we should expect Haley Coleman to occupy one six rotation spot, Makenzee Hanna and Danae Daron to regularly take trips across the front row and Ann Hollas to be the primary setter when running a one-setter offense.

With those four discussed, that still leaves space for at least two additional hitters and floor defensive pieces that complement them.  Without a doubt, junior Corin Evans contributions were essential in pacing the 2017 squad.  Evans got off to a blazing start last year putting up either double digit kills or digs in her first six matches.  Later, in the back half of the tournament phase of the schedule, Evans completed her coming out party with a dominant 19 kill, 14 dig performance against Tulsa that signaled the beginning of four straight double-doubles.  Once conference play began we got treated to 16 kills against Northwestern State, a .455 hitting night against Southeastern Louisiana, a double-double against McNeese, .419 attack percentage vs. Lamar and double digit kills against rival Sam Houston.  All told, her sophomore campaign resulted in a 200k/200d season, finishing third on the team in total kills and fourth in total digs.

The likelihood Evans is going to contribute on one side of the ball in any given match is high.  She killed 8 or more balls in sixteen matches last year and scooped up at least 8 digs a dozen times.  Other than Coleman, she’s the most likely hitter to consistently be used for six rotations and on some nights she’s the only offense we’d need to complement Daron, Coleman and Hanna.

But that’s not to say that there isn’t more on the pins for Debbie Humphreys to work with.  Not by a long shot.  Senior Peyton Redmond was often used in 2017 to stabilize the back row with serve receive duties while getting the occasional chance to swing.  She’s the natural choice to spell Coleman or Evans if either’s passing isn’t up to snuff in a particular match.  Peyton will occasionally light a spark on offense as well.  Redmond tripped the double figures mark in kills five times last year including two very strong matches near the end of the conference slate that saw her tally a double-double at ACU and hit .429 in the last regular season match of the year against Lamar.

When listing left side hitters, the first name is Coleman and that can be followed up by Evans and Redmond.  Hanna and Daron push the tally of hitters up to a strong five, but that’s before you even begin to discuss 2018 potential breakout candidate Xariah Williams.  The talent is definitely there and it won’t surprise me in the least if “X” shatters her mark of 53 sets played from last year.  I think there is 150-200 kills in this arm and her versatility could work to her advantage as the season progresses in terms of earning court time.

Williams was used on the right pin frequently last year, but that doesn’t rule out a possible contribution from the left.  The outside hitter list this year is extremely long.  It has one star – Coleman – and tons of depth.  Head Coach Debbie Humphreys said it well in the OH positional preview up at sfajacks.com – paraphrasing:  Each opponent and each match scenario can dictate which pieces are best to use and how.  

I’m dreaming a bit, and really getting ahead of myself, but allow me this thought:  Suppose Xariah Williams emerges and becomes at least a semi-fixture for three rotations on the right pin.  Imagine Coleman, Hollas and Evans playing all-the-way-around, Hanna and Anyia Williams holding down the middle and Daron and X on the right side.  That’s my 2018 “dream offense”.  You’ve still got the versatile Redmond (and/or newcomer?) to go in there to balance out the offense/defense combination if needed.

But there is still one other very real possibility for this offense and we saw it work well last year.  The modified two setter structure where Ann Hollas sets for three rotations and occupies the right side for the other three while senior setter McKenzie Brewer runs the offense.  This setup is very much in the mix for 2018 as Hollas has continued to take reps in practices on the right and Brewer doing a fine job in her stint as quarterback.

Moving the discussion to the middle, recall that Anyia Williams got in exactly 53 sets last year.  In just that limited time, she killed 100 balls, hit .342 and had 44 blocks.  Let me show you how awesome Williams can be with just some simple math.  (I know it’s NOT this simple, but you’ll get my point).  Suppose we scale Williams’ numbers up to 113 sets to match the number played by Makenzee Hanna last season.  113/53 is right at 2.13, so multiply everything by that factor.  That’d give you this extrapolation:

Hanna (actual):                 .335, 505 attacks, 214 kills, 116 blocks

Williams, A (scaled):       .342, 467 attacks, 213 kills,  94 blocks

So, some crude math leads me to this:  If Anyia Williams can do in her sophomore season what she did in her freshman season – just over the course of an entire year – then we are looking at a 2^nd Team All-SLC selection.  Remember, that’s not even factoring in any growth from Year 1 to Year 2.  All I’ve done above is just scale raw numbers.  That doesn’t even account for the fact that Anyia Williams talent has increased with one year of experience!

One other athlete available to us in 2018 is redshirt freshman Lauren Wright.  The imposing 6’2” middle blocker adds one more dimension to the Ladyjack front row.  It’s good to know that there is still time for Wright to develop and gain experience.  Practicing against Hanna, Daron and A. Williams each day is plenty good competition to supply Wright with the reps to succeed when she does get floor time.  The first time Lauren gets in this year, she’ll be making her official Ladyjack debut.

OK, that covers the returners on the front row:  Coleman, Hanna and Daron are locks for big roles.  Evans is in line for significant court time as well, possibly as much as holding down six rotations for a big chunk of the year.  Redmond is a fantastic veteran to mix-and-match with and Xariah Williams might be ready to take steps forward.  Anyia Williams already possesses All-SLC talent and Lauren Walker is ready to contribute when needed.

As deep as that crew is, the setter position is also one where the Ladyjacks have plenty of options.  Every year in purple and white there has been a period during the season where now senior McKenzie Brewer has come up big.  Her freshman year, she had 346 assists starting six matches and backing up Shannon Connell.  Last year, she assisted on 272 balls and garnered an all-tournament nod here in Nacogdoches at the Holiday Inn Express Invitational.  She had two double-doubles including a monster match in what was probably the most thrilling win of the year for SFA down in Corpus Christi – a five set barn-burner in which Brewer dished out 19 assists and dug up 11. 

Personally, I love the fact that we have three setters on the roster.  Brewer is strong enough to always give Humphreys a confident go-to in the aforementioned modified 6-2 or just sub straight in if Hollas struggles. Sophomore setter Margaret Dean is advancing at a rate that keeps the senior Brewer on her toes in her role as well.  It all equates to healthy competition in the gym each day.  Like Brewer, Dean is becoming more and more of an option on nights when Hollas needs a breather or the best offensive set is the 6-2.    Don’t forget, it was Dean that got her number called in the postseason NIVC matchup against Ole Miss.  She finished only three digs shy of a double-double in that season ending effort.

The lone back row returner is redshirt sophomore and spark plug Julia Whitehead.  The 5’2” fire cracker not only lends steady hands to support the passing and floor defense, but also supplies a healthy dose of what every bench needs:  positive energy.  One of the “highlights” of the 2017 season was when Julia’s sideline cheering and celebrating became so effervescent that she drew a yellow card from a stuffy chair referee.  EVERY team needs an athlete like Whitehead and SFA has the benefit of three more seasons of her unique brand of leadership.

Where does that leave us?

In the final installment of this series we’ll look at the five new freshman that will grace Shelton Gym and opposing floors this year.  Among them is a left side, middle, right side and two back row players.  The back row freshman in particular are scheduled to get a very long look early the in season.  The biggest loss SFA faces in 2018 is at the libero position now that Lexus Cain has graduated.  This is the one obvious spot that needs a new anchor and the back row freshmen may be primed to make an immediate impact.  Look for the first year rundown later this week in this space.

For now, a recap:

·         There are going to be many ways to work the puzzle offensively – potentially changing from night to night based on opponent and who starts off strong/weak in any match.

·         The offense could feature one or two setter structures.  Again, this could change from match-to-match, set-to-set or within set.  This is one place where the clear message is that “its fluid”

·         Daron, Hanna, Coleman and Hollas will be central to what we accomplish in 2018.

·         Anyia Williams firmly claiming the second middle spot will free up Daron to play right side and possibly set up a modified 6-2 structure where Hollas hits from the right while Daron is out.  We saw this last year and is as good a guess as any concerning how we'll start out in August.

·         If not in two setter structure, the combinations in the 5-1 are numerous.  The OH position is extremely deep.

·         The offense and net defense is projected to be one of the tops in the Southland, if not among all mid-major programs.

One final note for today:  The pre-season all Southland Conference teams are scheduled to be released from the league office Thursday of this week.  Watch for an announcement at the conference website and at sfajacks.com.

Finding Places For Fresh Faces

If you’ve checked into SFA Volleyball at all this summer you know there are a ton of fresh faces on the roster.  Suddenly, this club is very young and while it’s tempting to dream about what that means for 2018 or 2019, the current season is now upon us.  With two scrimmages and two weeks of practice in the books and only a few more days until a Wisconsin plane trip to kick things off, let’s go around the court and see how these newcomers could fit in.

With the ‘Jacks plans of running a 6-2 offense, a quick inventory of spots tells you there is one outside hitter (on the left) and one middle blocker spot open.  For the six hitters, we can pencil in Haley Coleman occupying one left side spot, Abby McIntyre and Makenzee Hanna sharing the right and Justice Walker anchoring the middle.  That leaves the spots opposite of Coleman and Walker up for grabs.

The early options for the other left side spot lead us to three fresh faces:  Sophomore transfer Peyton Redmond, coming over from East Tennessee State and freshmen KK Payne and Corin Evans.  What’s been interesting to me is that in the limited time I’ve seen each practice and play that they have each shined in mutually exclusive times. 

Checking in on practices, Evans made the fastest impression on me of the bunch.  Feisty and confident in drills it was clear that Evans felt comfortable on the court.  One of the things I like about Corin is that she’s aggressive while on the back row.  She doesn’t shy away from passing in the least.  At times, young outsides look a little reserved playing alongside the libero, but Evans doesn’t play with a wink of shyness.  I like the slight swagger and she seems to fit what I’ve personally talked to the coaching staff at length about concerning our needs for left-side hitters.  I thought she played better in scrimmage #1 than #2 when she scooped 29 digs in five sets.  I wouldn’t hesitate throwing her in there at all and I’m anxious to see how much playing time she can accrue during the tournament part of the schedule.

Redmond is the one of the bunch that has vaulted the most in impressions for me through the five or six times I’ve checked in.  The first few times I saw practice, I could tell she was a contributor, but during the two scrimmages my impression of her really shot up.  I like the calm disposition on the court.  Because she dominated the first scrimmage – and especially the deciding last set – I decided to exclusively study her positioning and demeanor during an entire six rotations last Saturday during the second scrimmage.  At no point did she appear rattled, discouraged, or unsure.  I think her experience at ETSU will pay immediate dividends.  Of the three, I think she’s the “safest” choice to put out there to avoid the roller coaster up and downs.

Payne can hit surprisingly hard for carrying such a light frame.  Like a lot of big scorers I’ve seen in the conference through the years, the first thing you notice in her approach to attack is the big back arch.  When she gets the hitting elbow up this really allows for her to whip at the ball with quite a force.  It will catch you off guard the first few times you see her hit.  Another positive to KK’s game is that she is comfortable letting it fly from the back row.  She’ll have to learn to add a little more finesse to counter all the big blockers, but of the bunch, she appears to be the most natural  pure left side scorer.  I’d especially use her if the right sides aren’t finding the floor as much as normal, because I think KK can score at this level right off the bat.  Defense and passing could be issues at times, but she passed well in the second scrimmage so that was a good sign.  Of the three, she’s the one I became aware of first and have heard the most about over the past six months or so.

What’s great about all the tournament games is that all three of these girls should see plenty of playing time.  Frankly, they all three NEED to be out there a lot early on.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see a different one of them start different matches on the days we have to play twice.  Debbie is quick to make in game adjustments due to performance anyway, so we could easily see different girls start different sets at multiple times early on.

Honestly, I think these three have the potential to make decisions very tough  on the coaching staff.  Of course, it’s a good problem to have when you need 6 hitters and 8 or 9 of them and playing at a level worthy of court time.  They are all young, and I’m naturally very, very cautious about first year players, but in a purposefully restrained way this may be the most optimistic I’ve been about a recruiting class of left-sides in quite a while.  Since some people have asked, I’ll state that if I had to play a conference match RIGHT NOW, I’d slide the experienced Redmond ahead of the freshmen.  But since we have four weekends of tournaments ahead, I would definitely play all three a ton for a month and reevaluate in late September as to whether one deserves to be labelled the “starter”. 

Running a 6-2 means you have to manage substitutions since the right sides and setters eat up four subs per time all the way around.  So, if this spot isn’t going to be DS’d for, then it may come down to serve receive and floor defense.  It’s still early… too early, but if the other five hitters are generating enough offense, I’d be tempted to use Redmond or Evans.  Otherwise, if trying to getting a scoring jumpstart, use Payne.  I say that with little to no initial reservation about Peyton or Corin on offense nor Payne on defense.  After all, Redmond and Evans but up big offensive numbers in scrimmage #1 and we’ve already discussed Payne’s passing in scrimmage #2.

Now, there are still FIVE other newcomers to discuss!  Wow!  At the open middle spot, we know a freshman will be on the floor all season.  Danae Daron, the sister of former SFA middle Ari, is obviously very athletic.  Go read her bio on the SFA roster page.  Excelling in track and volleyball, Danae looks like someone who has loads of potential.  SFA does such a good job integrating and training middle blockers that it is relatively easy to imagine that a year of playing with Walker could do Daron wonders.  The second middle just needs to be steady.  Enough offense should come from Walker and the pin hitters to where if the second middle can just hit .200-.250 a with a half dozen kills and block a few balls per match, then we’ll be good.

Shayla Eagleton is the other new middle on the squad for 2016 and she’s shown enough in practice and scrimmages to deserve a look early on as well.  I like Eagleton’s swing a lot.  She flashed plus potential on offense at times during the scrimmages and looks like someone that has enough natural talent to work with that she should be expected to improve as years pass.  At times, her location awareness on the floor in rally has been off, but that’s to be expected.  She’ll need to contribute since SFA only has three middles on the roster.  Because of that, expect to see her on the court a lot early on, because even if Daron wins the second middle spot, Shayla knows she’s the go to in case of any little thing that could happen to the other two.  Then again, this is spot where a starter may not emerge until late September, if then.

Middle is the only spot on the floor where I wish we had just one more girl.  Not because the three we have can’t do the job – I certainly think they can – but in the case of injury, you then have no additional flexibility.  Others could slide over, but these are the only three we are training as regular middles in pre-season.

Xariah Williams, a freshman from Mansfield Summit, will always be the answer to a personal trivia question of mine:  Who’s’ the SFA player my mom knew about before me?  Yes, my mom of all people clued me in to her.  My mom is not exactly a volleyball aficionado, but when Williams won the Fort Worth Star Telegram Volleyball Player of the Year Award last year, my mom gave me a call.  Xariah’s picture was in the paper – and my mom doesn’t miss it if it’s in the paper – and a few days later the article shows up in my mailbox complete with comments about coming to SFA.  Xariah had a really nice second scrimmage playing for the challenge team on the right side and provides excellent insurance for McIntyre and Hanna.  I’d predict she’d get just enough playing time to prove valuable for when it’s time for her to scoot into a starting role later in her career.  I think she fits on this club great and on the occasion that Abby or Mak isn’t feeling it, I’ll bet we see a few outbursts from Williams during the season.  She’s a great get for this recruiting class.  She might help us a lot this year, who knows?  But, I’d expect several seasons in purple where she is one of the go-to’s.

Pedigree and smarts are two words that describe freshman setter Ann Hollas.  Coming from a family of athletes, she clearly has the mindset of an NCAA Division I athlete.  From nearby Longview, you heard coach Humphreys describe in my first interview last week that Ann is training as a setter exclusively for the first time in her life.  Many veterans have already remarked to me about how smart Ann plays.  Her high school resume takes up more ink that most four-year college players get on the roster page.  Decorated with a long list of honors, it won’t be long until Hollas makes her mark at SFA.  Of course, with Shannon Connell in her final year, Hollas could find herself in the mix sooner rather than later during her four years with us.  To be honest, with all the attention to the two “open” spots for newcomers, Hollas could be the dark horse of the entire recruiting class.  An obvious opening doesn’t exist for her right now, but by the time we get to 2019, she may very well have made as big an impact as any gal on this list.

We only leave freshman Julia Whitehead for last comments, because back row players don’t mind being at the back.  Anyone reading in this space knows that I looooooooveeeee back row defense.  Here is one thing that is great about Whitehead being here:  she played on a team that went to the Texas 6A high school FINALS.  If you win defensive MVP in a 6A district that puts a club in the finals, then you know the girl can scoop.  Every team needs the 5’2” defender buzzing all around destroying the egos of the flashy hitters by digging everything to target.  Clearly, Lexus Cain has the libero spot held down and if we need to use a defensive specialist for one of hitters, then the much improved Sam Rodriguez is ahead of Whitehead on the depth chart.  Still, just like when Cain came in from Amarillo, it’s great to know that we have a DS on the bench that has played under the bright lights with a big school background.

Predicted Opening Day Lineup:

Left Sides: Coleman and Freshman*

Right Sides:  McIntyre and Hanna

Middles:  Walker and Daron

Setters:  Connell and Brewer

Libero:  Cain

If DS used at times:  Rodriguez

*I’m gonna guess Payne gets the nod in the first match Friday just because of a vibe I get from the staff.  I think I’d start Evans if it were me.  But, let me be clear.. all of Payne, Redmond and Evans should see a lot of opportunities over the first month.  They need to see what these girls can do in real matches.  The same is true of Eagleton & Williams.

Later in my next post:  Should SFA have been picked first or second in the Southland?  I’ll break down each side of that coin later in the week!