Heritage spikers using last year as motivational fuel
The Heritage Lady Generals seemed to be peaking at the right time this past October as the team went into the Region 6-AAAA tournament approaching 30 wins and holding down the No. 2 seed, along with a top-10 state ranking.
But after dispatching No. 7 seed Gilmer in the opening round, Heritage suffered a tough three-set loss to another state top10 team in LaFayette before a three-set loss at the hands of No. 5 seed Ridgeland brought a sudden end to their season.
Rather than try to block the memory out of their minds, the Lady Generals have let that bad taste linger for nearly 10 months…but with a purpose.
“We’re kind of using it as a motto, letting failure fuel what we’re doing,” said head coach Kari Cooper, whose upperclassmen were part of a Heritage team that advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2017. “It’s definitely been something that’s been brought up in a lot of different practices and meetings that we’ve had. We don’t want to forget that feeling that we had when we left the region tournament (last year) and we’re letting that be motivation for getting better.”
Cooper said three players in particular who haven’t forgotten the end to last season are seniors Trinity Ha, Morgan Trotter and Kayla Varnon.
“They have definitely made anybody that has come up from the junior varsity squad well aware of the shortcomings from last year because they might not have experienced it themselves,” Cooper continued. “They’re really pushing their teammates to not have those moments happen where we aren’t working as hard as we should or something like that.”
Ha (156 digs, 56 aces in 2018) is a defensive specialist that can also play the libero spot. Trotter, the King University commitment, will be back in the middle after 228 kills and 24 blocks as a junior, while Varnon (131 kills, 28 blocks) will give the Lady Generals another solid hitter on the outside.
“Trinity is one of those players that every year is always focused on getting better,” Cooper said. “We need her to be a good passer and a consistent server. For
Morgan, we’re just looking for consistent offense out of her. We need her to be that go-to hitter that can not only hit the ball, but be smart and know how to place the ball and Kayla’s got a good arm swing, so it’s just being able to place her where it’s going to be the most beneficial for her.”
A big junior contingent include setter Avery Phillips (334 assists in 2018), middle blocker Kallie Carter (130 kills, 54 blocks), defensive specialist and libero Anna Wilks (288 digs, 70 aces), another defensive specialist in Aubrey Blankenship and two more outside/rightside hitters in Cara Shavers and Allison Kerley.
The roster will be rounded out by a pair of sophomores. Lauren Francis (383 assists) will set and also play some at middle blocker, while Abbey Blevins will be another rightside hitter.
“We’re trying to make small gains every day,” Cooper explained. “Instead of trying to be too overwhelmed with focusing on everything as a whole, we’re breaking things down into very small pieces. Say one day we’re working on hitting. Maybe we’re just working on arm swing that day. We went to team camp at (the University of) Georgia and we were very successful there. It really gave us an opportunity to work on team chemistry, teamwork and things like that.”
While Cooper is a selfproclaimed “huge fan” of the serve-receive aspect of the sport, saying her team has to serve the ball tougher and pass better than their opponents, she added that the ultimate key to her team’s season lies between her players’ ears.
“It’s all mental,” she stated. “We’re going to be fine on the physical and technical side. It’s just going to be us being able to stay present in the moment and to not let anything dictate what we’re doing other than us running our game. We can’t be worried about the team on the other side. We just have to be in control and stay mentally strong. If we do that, I think we’re going to be successful.”