Enterprise Prep Lady Patriots ‘Gunn’ for title

By Jeremy Wise

Published: August 5, 2008

Last year’s Enterprise Preparatory Academy Lady Patriots volleyball squad fell one game short of the state tournament in their first year of Alabama Independent Schools Association play.

Now the Lady Patriots have their eyes on the ultimate sports prize, and they have a few new Gunns to use.

While the Lady Patriots are losing six players from last year, three sisters from Dothan have enrolled at EPA to help fill the gaps.

Sophomore Hannah Gunn will serve as a team captain.

Hannah’s sister Rebecca is the team’s new setter, and Rebecca’s twin sister Sarah will serve as the new middle hitter, according to Roscoe Kahumoku, Lady Patriots head coach.

“We lost a lot, but we gained a powerhouse in one family,” he added.

The Gunn sisters help fill voids left by Liz Hammer, Sadie Tucker, Krista Cooper-Nurse, Florence Stoiber, Caitlyn Stewart and Christin Burros.

Hammer and Tucker opted not to play volleyball this year, while Stoiber returned to her home country of Austria.

“We took some big losses,” Kahumoku said. “I think that this year we will be reloading with new faces.”

Other new faces will be Alicia White, Ariel Cashin and Victoria Henry.

“We’ve got one team with 12 members. After the first six, it’s a project in working,” Kahumoku said.

Despite a deluge of players leaving, the Lady Patriots do return some key components, including Kelly Kahumoku, who had 10 kills and 10 assists per game last year, and Angela Hill.

Kelly Kahumoku will be a left-side hitter, while Hill will be an opposite-middle hitter.

Kelly Kahumoku is known for her hitting ability, but Roscoe Kahumoku said Hannah Gunn is a player to watch.

“She’s perhaps as prolific of a hitter as Kelly is,” the coach said.

The team has one senior in Lucy Weaver, who will serve as a right-side hitter.

Last year, the Lady Patriots were one win away from qualifying for the Class A Final Four.

In the regional semifinals, they took a loss to Jackson Academy, a loss that taught the Lady Patriots a lot, Roscoe Kahumoku said.

“We learned we need to be in better shape. We need to finish,” he said.

That lesson probably has Kahumoku aiming high with his goal.

“We want to get to state and win it,” he said.
The Lady Patriots open the season Aug. 14 with a home game with Emmanuel Christian, one of two teams EPA did not beat at all last year.
The game starts at 4:30 p.m.