The W.S. Neal Lady Eagle volleyball team will take to the court this Tuesday for their first game of the year, as they will play at Flomaton.
The 2011 Lady Eagle roster shows nine players with two seniors, four juniors, no sophomores, and three freshmen.
“Overall, I am looking for a good season,” Haney said. “These girls as a JV team, they do not have much varsity experience, but as a JV team they have only lost five games in the last two years. They have had some success and they know how to win. With that said, we are still young. We have some freshmen that are going to play this year on the varsity team. The JV is predominantly ninth graders with some tenth graders that have never played before.”
Haney said that from the varsity, he is looking for some big things.
“I think we can compete in the area and make the playoffs,” Haney said. “I don’t think there is any reason why we can’t make the playoffs.”
Seniors this year for W.S. Neal are Paige Grantham and Lauren Boatwright.
“Both will be key players for us and both have varsity experience,” Haney said. “We are looking for big things from them. Paige is one of our better hitters and scores a lot of points for us. Lauren will play several positions for us. She is a setter and that is new to her. She has been working on that since practice in the summer. She has been a hitter in the past and has worked real hard and she looks like she might be one of our setters. We expect great things from those two.”
Gracee Dixon is a junior for the Lady Eagles this season.
“She has varsity experience and played some last year as a sophomore,” Haney said. “She is a big hitter and scores a lot of points for us. She does a great job all over the court. She is probably one of our best servers and one of those players we will probably keep on the court the whole time.”
Stephanie Lambert, another junior, is a front row player for the Lady Eagles.
“She does a great job and has great height and does a great job hitting the ball,” Haney said. “She covers the front row real well and is a great blocker.”
Kaitlin Hadaway will be another junior player for the Lady Eagles.
“She is a versatile player playing setter and hitter,” Haney said. “She has played setter in the past and we are trying to move her to hitter because she has got a little taller. It will be a better fit for her, but she does a great job setting. We will use her as a hitter and if we need her as a setter, we will put her in the mix.”
Kena Ellison rounds out the juniors.
“She did not play last year after breaking her wrist,” Haney said. “She was on the team but broke her wrist in practice the first few weeks. I don’t think she played in a game so she is basically a year behind in experience. She should be a defensive specialist for us and play the back row a lot.”
After no juniors, Kendal Clayton, Jodi Busby and Ashlyn Lambeth round out the freshmen players.
“Kendal does a good job on the back row,” Haney said. “We have a pretty good rotations worked out with Stephanie of her playing the front and Kendal on the back. They both do a good job serving.”
Haney said Ashlyn will be a setter for the Lady Eagles.
“She has done a phenomenal job this year,” Haney said. “She did a good job in the summer tournament at Flomaton and really has shown me a lot this year. She does a great job and is a consistent server and does a good job.”
Haney says Busby has good size to be in the ninth grade.
“She is young but she is learning the game,” Haney said. “She is doing a great job and works hard and will see some time on the court. She plays on the front and back and we are looking for good things from her in the future.”
Haney takes over for Britney Shelly as Lady Eagle head coach.
The 2011 schedule shows 16 games with eight home games and eight away.
The Lady Eagles will host a home tri-match against Jay and Escambia County of Atmore and will play in the Pleasant Home tournament as well as the Escambia County tournament that they will host in October.
Area opponents for the Lady Eagles include Thomasville, Monroe County, and Jackson.
Here is the complete schedule:
• Tuesday, Aug. 23, Flomaton, Away, 4 p.m., MS, JV, V
• Thursday, Aug. 25, Escambia County, Away, 4:30 p.m. Varsity
• Tuesday, Aug. 30, T.R. Miller, Home, 4 p.m., MS, JV, V
• Thursday, Sept. 1, Tri-match with Jay and Escambia County, Home, 4 and 7 p.m., Varsity
• Tuesday, Sept. 6, Thomasville, Away, 4:30 p.m., JV, V
• Thursday, Sept. 8, Flomaton, Home, 4 p.m., MS, JV, V
• Monday, Sept. 12, Pleasant Home, Away, 4 p.m., MS, JV, V
• Tuesday, Sept. 13, Monroe County, Home, 4:30 p.m., JV, V
• Thursday, Sept. 15, Jackson, Away, 4:30 p.m., Varsity
• Saturday, Sept. 24, Pleasant Home Tournament, Away, 9 a.m., Varsity
• Monday, Sept. 26, Pleasant Home, Home, 4 p.m., MS, JV, V
• Tuesday, Sept. 27, Monroe County, Away, 4:30 p.m., JV, V
• Thursday, Sept. 29, T.R. Miller, Away, 4 p.m., MS, JV, V
• Tuesday, Oct. 4, Thomasville, Home, 4:30 p.m., JV, V
• Saturday, Oct. 8, Escambia County Tournament, 9 a.m., Varsity