Oakwood Christian banking on youth in 2017
The Oakwood Christian Lady Eagles might be fielding one of its youngest squads in a number of years, but that hasn’t deterred the Navy-and-Gold from believing that they will once again be contenders for the Southern Christian Athletic Association championship.
“We’ve got six girls returning from last year,” said new head coach Celina Green, who is taking over as coach at the high school this fall. “We’re still going to be pretty young with six freshmen, but we have experienced players who will lead the team. We’re very young, but very talented. The players returning have great leadership skills and we expect to have a great year.”
The team suffered a big offseason loss when Kylie Hall, a senior, a Walker County Dream Team pick and the Lady Eagles’ most experienced player, moved to Knoxville, Tenn. with her family. That leaves Annika Green, a second-year volleyball player, as the team’s lone senior.
“It’s her second year playing, but she is a great leader because she leads in other sports,” the coach explained. “Last year, her strengths were blocking and consistent serving, but she has worked hard in the offseason on her hitting and she’s going to be a good hitter for us.”
The junior class will be led by multi-year starter Mary Catherine Ownby, a Walker County honorable mention pick in 2016. Ownby, an outstanding athlete, is the team’s most
experienced setter and a team leader because of her work ethic. The other junior, returning player Natalei Raines, will give the Lady Eagles some defensive experience along the back row.
Three more returning players make up the sophomore class.
Lexie Asher, another honorable mention selection, is a strong hitter and server, who simply loves the game of volleyball. She will fill an outside hitter spot, as will Charity Bankston, who has shown a big improvement as a hitter since last year. The final sophomore, Layla Rogers, will lend support to the back row.
Oakwood will have six freshmen on the roster, five of which Green coached in middle school.
Lily Green will play up front in an outside hitter role, while Amelia Michael will fill a role at setter. The final four players, Olivia Green, Raleigh Suits, Elliana Hammond, Emilee Teague, will play along the back row.
“It’s an experienced and talented (freshman) group and they are very competitive,” Green said. “Because of that, they will all get a good amount of playing time.”
Green said serving and hitting are her team’s strengths, along with the team’s competitive nature. And because of those things, she anticipates a team that will surprise many in the league.
“All of these girls are talented in volleyball, but they all have so much heart and drive to be good and they work hard at it,” she added. “They are so fun and it’s a blessing to get to coach them. We might be young, but I really think they’re going to be awesome. The girls and I both think we can do this.”
Oakwood will begin its season at home on Aug. 14 with a match against Mountain View Christian.