(by Don Meador, Sports Information Director)
A mixture of experienced starters and new faces will combine to lead the Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriot volleyball team this fall. The goal---improve and enjoy each moment---with the focus being to be in position to compete for a fourth consecutive District 15 tournament title and be a contender on the regional tournament.
AC-S is poised to start their 20th season of volleyball on September 8 following a summer like no other. COVID-19 delayed the start of summer conditioning, postponed official practice and the season start for three weeks, and forced numerous schedule adjustments. With the pandemic ongoing, uncertainty remains.
Yet, AC-S has been cleared to start practice with September 8 circled as the season’s starting date. New Lady Patriot coach Cameron Cook is hard at work prepping the squad. The coach has five juniors---Layla Carter, Chloe Cook, Oliva Coulter, Madison Lynch, and Maddie Stallings---that will lead the way with each one expected to contribute in multiple ways.
“Layla Carter is one of the better athletes we have in the gym,” Cameron Cook said. “She will be a setter and an outside attacker. With the new offense we are running, she will have a chance to do both. Layla can jump out of the gym, is an extremely coachable kid. I look forward to see her shine in both of those roles.”
Coach Cook explains that Chloe Cook is the same type of player as Carter which will give the Lady Patriots a pair of hard-working bookends on the front line.
“Chloe is a great athlete, very coachable and does the little things right,” coach Cook added. “She is a vocal leader. She was also be an outside hitter and setter. We will get a chance to see both her and Layla on the pens. They have a lot of experience under their belts and they will have to lead the way for us in a lot of ways.”
Coulter is transitioning into a new position on the squad.
“Olivia will take on a new role as a weak side attacker,” coach Cook noted. “She will play all six rotations which means that she will not get subbed out. Olivia is a consistent player. We know what we get when she is on the floor. She is a great asset to us. Oliva is also becoming a vocal leader.”
Lynch is one of the team’s most improved players who is expected to step in and step up in a specific role.
“Madison is a defensive specialist,” coach Cook added. “She has improved so much in the past year. She has gotten more confident and has gotten stronger with her passing ability. We met with her and said here is the role we need you to play and she is playing it. She had had a great summer with what limited ball we have been able to do. She has made tremendous strides.”
The Lady Patriots start the year with a middle presence that is expected to pay dividends for the team.
“Maddie has gotten tremendously better with her footwork and her attack,” coach Cook “She has gotten quicker with her attack. I’m looking forward to seeing her defense showcased, She is a really good blocker for us and makes a lot of things challenging for the other team. She is a six foot frame in front of you that, when she blocks, looks eight foot tall. She is really gonna help us mix some things up offensively.”
Sophomores Anna Walker and Ellie Barton are expected to contribute as well.
“Anna is a returning starter,” coach Cook pointed out. “She is still growing and getting quicker. Sje has played club ball over the summer and is really developing her offense. Last year, she did a good job of keeping the ball in play. Now, she is the aggressive. You have to tell her to calm down when she’s serving or attacking. Anna is on the net at all times. She will be a key for us offensively and defensively.
Ellie will play as a weak side hitter. She has gotten a ton better and more aggressive. She is a coachable kid that will do anything you tell her to do. She gets better each and every day in the gym.”
The Lady Patriots are adjusting to the limited preseason practice. The process would be challenging in any year in any sport but is more complicated given the fact that AC-S will have a new offensive look this season.
“We have to take every minute we have in practice and use it somehow,” coach Cook said. “This week, we are putting in our rotation and looking at where kids are going to help us/ Usually we start working on that in the middle of July (when practice first starts). We normally have time to toy around with it to see what we like and don’t like. We are also starting a brand new offense. We are a completely different look then last year. We are learning on the fly. But now, the experiment phase is over. We must put something in action that we can use when we go to Monroe County on September 10.”
A blessing for coach Cook is the fact that his squad comes to practice each day ready to work hard and learn.
“For the shortened practice season, they are focused,” coach Cook emphasized. “They have a laser focus for an hour and a half to two hours. They really soak up every bit of the offense we are putting in. These kids love to play the game. They are so easy to coach. It makes me proud to be their coach because they are so focused on getting their rotations down.”
Perhaps a secondary reason for the focus---or a simple grasp on the reality of this year---lies in the knowledge that any practice or any game, could be the last for a brief time or for the entire season.
“We know we can’t take one second for granted in the gym,” coach Cook admitted. “Starting September 10 we are in post season mode, Coaches always say that it’s a one game season well that’s how you have to approach this year starting September 10. Whether we play one match or 20, we are going out to win each match and to be our best each one. We are going to take advantage of each chance we get. For about a week now, the girls have been looking to September 10. They are focused on going over to being ready to complete with a district opponent and whatever falls after that, falls. We don’t know what we get after Monroe County.”
AC-S is seeking a District 15 championship for the fourth time in as many seasons along with building upon last year’s 20-12 worksheet. However, coach Cook is quick to note that the District will be challenging in part due to several unknowns yet a challenge his team is prepared to encounter.
“Everybody is in a similar boat as us,” coach Cook explains. “We lost seven players. Glasgow and Monroe lost a lot and Barren lost a little. The coaches have been talking and we really don’t know what’s its going to look like, especially with the shortened practices. I think we have as much talent if not more than anyone. I think we have the potential to be in the regional tournament at Russell County and make some noise. We must go into every match prepared to play our best no matter who is on the other side. If we play our best, I’ll pit us up against about anybody. This district is so well coached. I have tremendous respect for all three coaches. Every game matters but district games are circled in red. Every team has a new twist as to what they are doing. When we get to the District tournament, it will be a dog fight.”
The remaining AC-S schedule---a schedule that could still change due to COVID-19 related events---includes contests with Warren East, Edmonson County, Grayson County, Breckinridge County, Metcalfe County, Ohio County, Butler County, Apollo, and Owensboro. The Lady Patriots will host the first Southern Kentucky Slam tournament with teams from Russell County, Edmonson County, Adair County, and Bethlehem on September 19.
Plans also call for the match with Monroe County on October 1 to be a celebration night, a time when the program reflects on the first 20 years of volleyball.
Coach Cook will be assisted this year by Randy Cook and Shanda Graves.