The Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriot volleyball program opens the season Monday, August 14, with a home match against Warren East. Opening night will cap a summer of hard work.
“Practice has been going good,” noted first year coach Sarah Fisher. “We had 25 girls come out. They are doing real well and practicing hard.”
Fisher---an AC-S assistant last season who was tabbed to replace Randy Cook following his coaching retirement last spring---inherits a team with experience.
“The team is a bit older and that is showing on the court,” Fisher said. “I’m excited to see what happens when game days come.”
The Lady Patriots are led by three seniors---Nicole Carver, Bailey Cook, and Adrianna Webb.
“We're working on building our seniors as leaders,” Fisher said. “Adrianna Webb is an outside hitter, Baylea Cook is a defensive specialist, and Nicole Carver is a middle blocker. Hopefully one of these three will step up and be a leader on the court."
The seniors will be joined by several players that saw a considerable amount of time on the court last season. Key returning players include sophomore Meg Foster, junior Kaylee Baldwin, sophomore C.J. Towe, and junior Macy Ward---players that helped AC-S post a 14-12 record last fall.
“Meg is our setter and Kaylee Baldwin is another middle blocker,” Fisher added. “Macy Ward played a lot last year and C.J. Towe is a younger player that will see time on the court. We are also developing a lot of younger kids into setters and hitters. They will see court time.”
Additional players on the roster that are battling for playing time include junior Abigail Cooper, and sophomores Olivia Brown, Jaden Carter, Gracyn Ford, Avery Pitchford, and Breann Varner,
Fisher adds that being with the Lady Patriot last season has helped the transition in coaching.
“It has been a smooth transition,” Fisher noted. “I am still kind of new to them. I am glad we had open gym during the summer. That was a way to introduce me to them and them to me. Overall, things are going well.”
The Lady Patriots will field a varsity team that will play a competitive schedule this season---competitive but not overwhelming. Match-ups with district rivals as well as a strong slate of regional foes highlight the season. AC-S will step out of regional play to battle a couple of Tennessee powers as well as teams from Region 3 in Edmonson County and Butler County.
“Our schedule will help us get better,” Fisher said. “It’s not a weak schedule and it should challenge us.”
Fisher will also use a strong junior varsity and freshman schedule to build the program and develop her younger players.
“We are working with our younger kids on fundamentals and helping them build those basic skills,” Fisher added “I am excited to see what this season has in store."
The Lady Patriots will open their volleyball season on Monday, August 14, with a home match against Warren East. Action starts at 5:30. The team will scrimmage Greenwood---the reigning Region 4 champion---on Tuesday, August at Patriot Gym.
Fisher hopes that the community will come out and watch her team this year. In order to help fans learn more about the sport, Allen County Community Education is sponsoring a one-time clinic from 6:30 until 7:30 on Monday, August 7. The clinic will feature Fisher, assistant coach Al Barman, and the Lady Patriots talking about the terms, rules, and objectives of the game. Clinic participants will learn more about viewing the sport. Terms such as dig, kill, set, and rally scoring will be explained and illustrated.
The clinic will have a $1 fee and registration is required. To register or for more information, , please call 270-622-8551 by 2 p.m. on Friday, August 4.