By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Instead of on the Gulf Coast, the Thorsby volleyball team is spending time in a sweltering gymnasium.

Coach Ginger Williams brought in players and coaches from Samford University to run a camp Wednesday and Thursday.

It was the first time representatives from a college program have spent time with the Rebels since Williams took over. In the past, the team has traveled to Gulf Shores for a team camp, which would include practice games against other varsity squads.

“They hear us all the time,” Williams said. “I love the idea of having some good coaches in here teaching them the same things. We hope they say, ‘If they’re doing it [at Samford], maybe we do need to pay attention.’”

The camp was organized after Williams had a conversation with Samford assistant James Hanger at a coaching clinic at Montgomery Academy.

“We want to build our relationships with the Alabama high schools—get to know the coaches and get to know the programs,” Hanger said.

More than 30 players are involved in THS volleyball from varsity down to middle school, and 23 participated in the camp.

“We want girls to leave camp absolutely in love with volleyball and feeling like they’ve learned a lot in two days,” Hanger said.

Also helping with the camp were Samford head coach Derek Schroeder and several Samford players.

From Staff Reports

Two Thorsby volleyball players held ceremonies on Wednesday to announce their intentions to play college volleyball.

Kendra Dawson will attend Judson College and was joined at the ceremony by (clockwise from top left) assistant coach Keith Williams, coach Ginger Williams, THS principal Russ Bryan, Karla Gore, Nancy Claxon and Glenna Dawson.

Holly Smith will attend the University of Mobile and was joined by Keith Williams, Ginger Williams, Bryan, Amy Smith and Haley Smith.

Isabella fought back from a lost first set on Saturday to defeat rival Jemison, 2-1 (18-25, 25-21, 15-7) and win the Chilton County Volleyball Tournament for the second time in three seasons.

No county team other than Isabella or Jemison has won the tournament since its resumption in 2003, and the Mustangs and Panthers fought like familiar foes at this year’s event, hosted by Thorsby.

Jemison played focused, flawless volleyball in taking the first set from Isabella, ranked eighth in Class 1A, but the second and third sets were dominated by tournament Most Valuable Player Amber Wyatt, who finished with 23 kills, seven blocks, seven digs and six aces in two matches.

Isabella defeated Thorsby, 2-0 (25-17, 25-14) in its first match of the day, while Jemison topped Chilton County, 2-0 (25-19, 25-6), to advance to the championship match.

CCHS beat Thorsby, 2-0 (25-15, 25-22), in the consolation match.

Along with Wyatt, the all-tournament team included Chilton County’s Keondra Looney, Thorsby’s Desiree Evans, Jemison’s Kasi Wells and Hallie Amos, and Isabella’s Savannah Kissel and Heather Mason.

Emily Smithey got every one of her 19 serves in, and that number included five aces, second only to Wells’ eight aces.

Smithey led the team in digs with 16; Amos wasn’t far behind with 14.

Wells recorded 23 assists.

Kortney Robinson had nine kills, and Shelby Griffin led Jemison with four blocks.

By Stephen Dawkins

Thorsby and Jemison volleyball squared off in the championship match of the Thorsby-hosted Super Saturday Tournament Saturday, Aug. 21 at Jemison.

Jemison came out on top over Thorsby, winning 25-13 and 25-13 to take the title.

“The longer we played, the better we got,” Jemison coach Leighsa Robinson said.

Jemison defeated Shelby County twice and Vincent once to reach the match, propelled by the tournament’s most valuable player, Kasi Wells.

Wells had 61 assists and 15 aces to lead the tournament.

Her Jemison teammates also had strong showings in the tournament. Emily Smithey had 28 digs in the tournament, Shelby Griffin had 22 kills, and Kortney Robinson had 8 blocks.

Thorsby’s run to the championship included two wins against Sylacauga and a win over Fayetteville before meeting Jemison in the final.

“We played hard all day long until the championship game,” Thorsby coach Ginger Williams said. “Then we simply ran out of gas.”

It was Thorsby’s first tournament appearance during the regular season according to Williams.

Thorsby standouts include Holly Smith who had 42 assists and 14 aces, Kendra Dawson who had 12 digs and five aces, Desiree Evans who had nine kills and eight digs, and Jennifer Spivey who had nine kills and six blocks.

From staff reports

Thorsby won four out of five volleyball matches on opening night Thursday, but coach Ginger Williams said her varsity, which split two matches, must improve.

The varsity defeated host Sylacauga, 2-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-22), but lost to Central-Coosa, 2-0 (15-25, 19-25).

“We did not serve the ball well at all,” Williams said. “To put it plain and simple, we did not play our ball game.”

Holly Smith recorded 15 assists and eight aces against Sylacauga.

Jennifer Spivey had four kills, and Desiree Evans chipped in three kills.

Thorsby’s junior varsity defeated Sylacauga, 2-0 (25-13, 25-22); and Central-Coosa, 2-0 (25-19, 25-21).

The middle school team topped Sylacauga, 2-0 (25-21, 25-13).

By Stephen Dawkins

The senior class of Thorsby’s 2009 volleyball team will be remembered as the group that took the Rebels to unprecedented heights, the sub-state round of the playoffs.

The 2010 senior class will be tasked with keeping the program at its newfound level of success.

But with the loss of so many players to graduation off last year’s team, Thorsby this season will rely on several younger players to keep the momentum going under coach Ginger Williams.

“We’re definitely more inexperienced,” Williams said. “I’m pleased with what we’ve done so far, but when things don’t go our way, how we react, that will be the thing.

“We’ll see.”

Seniors Holly Smith (setter), Kendra Dawson (outside hitter/defensive specialist), and Crystelly Olivos (defensive specialist) and juniors Sade’ Archie (middle blocker) and Desiree Evans (outside hitter) all saw playing time last season.

But Olivos will take on a much more significant role this season, and Archie is switching positions, from outside hitter.

Three more players—senior right side hitter Kayla Smith, junior defensive specialist Krysten Hendrix and freshman middle blocker Jennifer Spivey—were called up to the varsity squad at the end of last season to provide depth and to gain invaluable experience.

Williams recalled a conversation she had with Spivey as the Rebels were preparing for the upcoming season: “She said, ‘I’d be scared to death if I didn’t get to go to sub-state with y’all.’”

One likely starter, seventh grader Emily Spain, didn’t have the luxury of getting her feet wet at the varsity level, adding on to the team’s inexperience.

This year’s team should rely more on its defense than on power hitting, Williams said, and the coach’s growing tenure at the school should also provide an advantage.

Dawson and Smith have been playing for Williams since her arrival and have helped establish expectations for how things are done—and pass those expectations on to younger players.

“Now, they know how the program is ran,” Williams said. “They know what is expected. As coaches, we get to coach, not stand there and nit-pick. Now, they do that themselves.

“They warm up without being asked; they take the net down after practice without being asked. It’s nice.”

By Stephen Dawkins

If not for the relaxed demeanors on the court, Monday’s volleyball action at Jemison would have looked an awful lot like a county tournament.
Chilton County, Jemison and Thorsby, along with West Blocton, all participated in exhibition matches at Alton Cobb Gymnasium, but the intense focus usually associated with local volleyball rivalries was replaced by players smiling and coaches patiently stepping onto the court in the middle of matches to offer instructions.
“This is good for us,” Jemison coach Leighsa Robinson said. “We decided it would be good for the county, and we want to make it an annual event.
“Hopefully, we can get six or eight teams in here next year.”
The state high school athletic association allows teams in each sport a certain number of days each summer for exhibition competitions, and the three county schools are using Monday and Tuesday for two of those days.
Matches were also scheduled for Tuesday.
Coaches view the exhibitions as extra practice before the official practice period begins.
Thorsby coach Ginger Williams has to replace several seniors from last year’s team.
“The summer has gone really well,” Williams said. “They’ve worked hard.”

By Stephen Dawkins

Michelle Hendrix on Wednesday became the first Thorsby volleyball player under coach Ginger Williams to sign to play at the college level.

Hendrix signed to play for the University of Mobile in a ceremony attended by family, Thorsby administrators, Williams and assistant coach Keith Williams.

School officials and coaches said Hendrix could be the first ever volleyball player from Thorsby to play collegiately.

“Her hard work—she’s very determined and self-motivated,” Ginger Williams said about why UM would pursue Hendrix. “She has always given 100 percent on and off the court, and it is great to have someone with that determination going on to the next level. It speaks volumes for her as an athlete and for our program.”

Hendrix played volleyball at the varsity level for five years, the first two at Chilton Christian Academy and then three years for Williams. In her Thorsby career, Hendrix recorded 100 kills, 157 assists, 143 aces and 274 digs.

Hendrix played both setter and defensive specialist but said she would likely play defense at UM.

Her recruitment began when she attended volleyball camp at the school about a year ago.

“It’s small; it’s like Thorsby,” Hendrix said about what she found attractive about the school, also mentioning coach Amber Campbell.

By Stephen Dawkins

Ginger Williams admits she needed some help transforming Thorsby’s program.
Luckily, Williams didn’t have to look far.
Williams, The Clanton Advertiser’s Volleyball Coach of the Year, and her husband, Keith, have combined to guide many of the same Rebels that won a total of five matches in Williams’ first two seasons to unprecedented heights this year.
“I knew we had a long way to go,” Williams said about her initial thoughts about her first job as a head coach. “It’s exciting because it’s a chance to rebuild and do it the way you want to.
“I wouldn’t say I was overwhelmed, but I knew it would be a process.”
Thorsby won four matches in Williams’ first season, in 2006, one match in 2007 and seven matches last season.
The Rebels went 18-16 in the 2009 regular season and made the program’s first-ever appearance in the sub-state round of the playoffs.
The success can be traced to a plan Williams put in place upon her arrival from Douglas High School, where she both played and served as an assistant.
Williams said she knew her players had to spend much more time in the weight room and take on the attitude that they would not accept failure.
But this presented a dilemma: push the players too hard and/or stress the negative too much, and Williams would have risked killing off the already limited interest in the sport.
So, she took a measured approach. Workouts and conditioning, which were handled by assistant coach Keith, became a little more difficult each year. And Williams let her players remain positive, even through all the losses, in the name of improvement.
Until this season.
“We met with each of them individually before the season, told them what we expected of them and said, ‘It’s up to you,’” Williams said. “This season, we’re not going to have this, ‘Oh, we’re getting better.’ This year, we want to win.”
Three seniors—Michelle Hendrix, Brittany Maddox and Stephanie Moore—who were freshman starters on Williams’ first team represent a microcosm of the program’s turnaround.
Williams said it’s “unreal” how much the three have improved.
“The biggest improvement was attitude,” Williams said. “They always worked hard, but it was realizing how good they could be. You don’t want to be arrogant, but you have to walk on the court and think, ‘There’s no way we can get beat.’”
Interest in volleyball has increased as a result of the success.
In May 2007, Williams organized a volleyball clinic for girls in grades 2-5. Ten girls showed up.
A similar clinic was held this past May. There were more than 30 participants.
“I think this season will help even more with that,” Williams said.
With a larger talent pool, a winning attitude and players accustomed to hard work, the future of Thorsby volleyball is bright.

By Stephen Dawkins

JEMISON – Both Jemison’s and Thorsby’s volleyball programs were knocked out of the sub-state round of the playoffs last week, but that was about the only similarity.
Jemison was a veteran team playing and home and expecting to advance to the Elite Eight state tournament this week at the Pelham Civic Complex. Thorsby, meanwhile, had never before made it so far in the playoffs and was playing at Leroy.
The Panthers fell to visiting Andalusia 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-8, 25-18) on Oct. 22.
“When you get to this level, you’ve got to play more consistent,” Jemison coach Leighsa Robinson said. “We made too many errors back-to-back and didn’t correct ourselves.
“Our girls have played hard all year, we just didn’t come through today.”
The Panthers (34-11) dug themselves a hole in each set: They trailed 6-0 in the first set, 5-1 in the second, 15-1 in the third and 7-0 in the fourth.
Still, the hosts looked to be a match for Andalusia (25-13) as the squads split the first two sets.
But any momentum was squandered as Jemison couldn’t get Andalusia senior Amber Anderson off the service line to begin Set 3. Anderson served for 14 consecutive points.
Anderson was also part of an imposing Bulldogs offensive attack that rained down kills seemingly from the rafters.
Jemison’s defense was solid as always-Emily Smithey and Tanya Liveoak led the effort with 14 digs and 12 digs, respectively-but its offense was too spotty. Jemison recorded 31 kills but made 25 attack errors.
Tabatha Cork recorded 11 kills to go along with four assists. Kasi Wells filled up the stat sheet to the tune of 20 assists, nine digs, four kills and two blocks.
Whitney Childress had five aces.
The Rebels, unfortunately, played like a team in unfamiliar territory—both the gymnasium and the place in history.
Thorsby fell at Leroy, 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-20).
“We played nervous, being our first time there,” coach Ginger Williams said. “We’re extremely proud of them, anyway. This team has really done a lot.”
Thorsby was put on the defensive most of the night, so there were plenty of digs to be had. Brittany Maddox had 12, Desiree Evans had 10 and Holly Smith had 8.
Maddox also had four kills.
THS finished the season with a 20-20 record.