Coach Flavia Freeney and Stanhope Elmore are getting geared up for the volleyball season this year. The Mustangs put up a solid performance last season, finishing with a 15-9 overall record and second in their region.
They qualified for the regional tournament, winning the first regional tournament game in school history. They advanced to the second round where they eventually lost to Gulf Shores in straight sets. Gulf Shores was one of the top teams in 6A and advanced all the way to the state semifinals.
After the season, they lost two key players in Zoie and Zori Holmes, a hitter and setter on the team, respectively. Despite losing two of the best players on the squad, there are plenty of great athletes who have stepped up to fill those roles.
“The girls that are coming up,” Freeney said. “The thing I like about them is that they all seem to pull together really well.”
As the school year and volleyball season creep closer, Freeney has emphasized the importance of getting the whole team together for practices — something that has been difficult as many of the athletes have jobs, activities or family vacations that have prevented them from coming to practice as often.
“(I’m) really looking forward to coming in in August when school starts,” Freeney said. “And being able to really get to work, working a whole lot more into specifics and into actual positions.”
Since the first week of June, Freeney has hosted two-a-day practices – early morning workouts and evening practices.
“We’ve had a high percentage of girls come, which was really good,” Freeney said. “They’ve worked really hard, especially coming in at six in the morning, it’s been pretty hot. They’ve really been showing up.”
Many of the varsity players from last year have returned to the team for this season, although it is still unclear who might take over to lead the Mustangs through the season.
“We’ve got a couple of girls returning on the front line,” Freeney said. “Nay Russell, Ella Davis and Addison Stinson, those are three front row players that we’re really looking forward to coming back. And then Hayden Bush, she was my eighth grader playing varsity. We’re really looking forward to being able to see what everybody can do.”
