St. Ed’s girls volleyball team staggered out of the gate with a 1-2 mark before hitting the meaty portion of a busy schedule with two September weekend tournaments in Orlando sandwiched around a pair of key district matches.
The Pirates were able to tough out a five-set squeaker before consecutive straight-set defeats indicated that this team has yet to hit the stride everyone anticipated based on a returning core of talented veterans coming off a winning season.
“We are definitely looking to improve on our record (15-9) from last year,” Head Coach Doug Leman said. “We’ll have some tough district games and we are in tournaments where I’m not familiar with the opponents. I feel we will all be disappointed if we don’t do better than last year.”
Although this is Leman’s first year as varsity head coach, he is quite familiar with the program and this particular group of girls. Despite being the most recent to come through a revolving door of head coaches, Leman brings a measure of continuity to the gym after a four-year stint as varsity assistant and junior varsity head coach.
This varsity team was expected to thrive with six skilled veterans and three rookies. Seniors Brett Harper, Connie Lamos and Paige McGuire took home post-season honors in 2013 and form a strong, experienced nucleus. Juniors Olivia Oriaku, Caroline Campione, Taylor Tee and Nicole Alden will provide formidable support along with sophomores Angela Schwerer and Emily Hudson.
“The seniors are the go-to girls, but the juniors all had great hitting percentages in our first match (a five-set win over Covenant Christian),” Leman said. “They really stepped up and had terrific passing numbers, too. We’re very deep and had a balanced attack in that match. There wasn’t just one hitter with all the kills. So I’m happy with the way we can spread it out.”
In that opening match, four players shared 35 kills, led by Harper with 14. McGuire was credited with 25 assists. That formula will have to be a regular occurrence if this team is to accomplish anything in the regular season and district playoffs.
“Our star is Brett,” McGuire said. “She can do anything out there. My primary job as a setter is to set up Brett as well as the other hitters. This is my fourth year on the varsity and I’m actually very happy with the team we have this year. We are all hopeful that our season will turn out well.”
The Pirates were bounced in the first round of the 2013 district playoffs and have vowed not to let that happen again. Unfortunately, they were flat in their first big test within the district.
Visiting Benjamin handled St. Ed’s with relative ease last week. Only the middle set was competitive as the Bucs swept three straight. The Pirates were behind the entire evening with the exception of a short-lived one-point lead late in set two.
The first road encounter was equally frustrating, a straight-set thumping by Holy Trinity Episcopal. These early setbacks may have exposed several shortcomings in areas that Leman cites as being crucial for sustained success.
“At this level if you don’t get the serve in, you are never going to do well,” Leman said. “So we stress serving and serve receiving. We also push passing and defense. With a good pass we know everyone can hit the ball. We are constantly talking about staying low on defense and reading where the opponent is going to hit the ball.”
Leman went on to mention identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the other team and using that to your advantage. Above and beyond those coaching tips, he wants the girls to enjoy the experience as much as he does.
“Without a doubt I love volleyball,” Leman told us. “I still play and it’s just very relaxing for me to coach. I don’t get nervous during the games because I know these girls are very good and well prepared. You won’t find me marching up and down the sidelines yelling and screaming. I only get disappointed if they don’t play to their potential.
“These girls get it. They are a very tight group on and off the court. They want to do well for each other and they have fun at practice all the time. You can’t play uptight in volleyball. You’ve got to be loose and have fun out there. I really believe they will do well this year.”
Senior Connie Lamos feels it’s just a matter of time. “I think we’re a pretty solid defensive team and we’ve definitely got some strong offensive hitters. But I think we still need to work on meshing as a team.
“We haven’t officially clicked yet. Working hard is probably the fastest way to get there. When we click it’s going to be really great.
“This year we would like to get to the district finals. Aside from that, I would like to see us to have fun and maximize our talent.”
