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Volleyball Preview 2006
"I guess everyone will be looking at trying to knock us off again this season," Coach Jami Barlow said. "But these girls have really been working, they know what is ahead of them." One thing that will remain constant for this year's team is the return of state tourney MVP Corrie Allen. Allen injured her knee in basketball last year, missing most of that season and all of the softball slate. Now she is back 100 percent for the Lady Gators. Three other starters are back from a team that battled its way through the loser's bracket last year to claim their second straight crown. Janine Kania, Tess Ackerman and Katelyn Dunagan form the core of four returning starters. Four sophomores -Jess McKinley, Lindsay Jordan, Beth Kania and Whitney Larrimore as well as freshman Harley Horton are all back as well with game experience, including some in the state tournament. Two of these will make up the remainder of the starting line-up.
The cupboard isn't bare with the rest of the varsity squad as Anna Hicks, Rachel Mayton, Haley Hill, Andrea Bagley and Julie Banks have been showing great promise in practice and will and considerable depth to an already strong bench. Eighth grader Allie Dunagan is also showing skills in the pre-season sessions. "We do have some experince and that will be important down the stretch," Barlow said. "The key is for us to remain hungry. We can't get complacent." The Lady Gators infused some fun into the normal run of practice last Friday when they had the first annual Lady Gator Classic. It was a double-elimination tournament where each player put together a 4-man team to play. "The girls enjoyed it and it helped raise more enthusiasm with the fans," Barlow said. The Lady Gators open the season in Mobile at the Elite Eight tournament on the campus of Faith Academy. The tourney brings in the top eight teams from last year's state tournament.
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