Kinston volleyball gets whole new lineup

By Jeremy Wise

Published: August 6, 2008

A volleyball team with a full roster carries 12 players.

At 1A volleyball power Kinston, that was about as many seniors they had in a run to the semifinals.

Last year’s Lady Bulldogs had 10 seniors, forcing head coach Janie Wiggins to promote an entire junior varsity squad to serve as her varsity team this year.

Wiggins said the team is not completely devoid of experience.

“We moved the whole JV up. They’ve played together, and we took them to a few (varsity) tournaments,” she said.

One of those was a tournament at fellow 1A Wiregrass power Providence Christian, where the JV squad finished second in pool play.

Wiggins is not concerned about sending a fresh team to the floor this year.

“The best ones that allow us to be successful will be the ones out there. I see a lot of potential. We just need game experience,” she said.

Losing that many seniors, including Southern Union State Community College signees Jesi Johnson and Heather Marlowe, might leave some teams without
leadership.

Wiggins, though, believes she already has leadership in place in this new group.

“I think we have it. We have to incorporate that in practice. We have to pull it out,” she said.

The seniors that may provide that leadership are Ashton Parker, Jessica Reeves, Crystal Baker and Holli Kilcrease.

Baker served as the setter in Wiggins’ 5-1 offensive set last year and will return as the server for the varsity team.

Kilcrease will star as the team’s libero, a defensive specialist.

Wiggins said the team has some good strengths.

“We are a very strong serving team. We have several really good hitters,” she said.

Hitters include Parker, reeves, Marika Whitehurst, Erin Shaw, Amber Jacobs, eighth grader Emily Mock and sophomore Sara Mock, an all-state selection at
pitcher for the Lady Bulldogs softball team this year.

“She’s just an athlete,” Wiggins said.

Wiggins’ team has another strength: size.

“We’re gonna be big,” she said, mentioning both Emily Mock and Marika Whitehurst are over 6-feet tall.

Wiggins said this team has a hunger to win.

“They are very willing to do what I ask. They’ve been in the shadow long enough,” she said.

In 2006, the Lady Bulldogs won the state championship, but last year, the team took an upset loss to Athens Bible in the semifinals.

Wiggins said that loss still resonates with the team.

“You never recover. It should serve as a lesson for all the girls,” she said. “All of this is just practice (until the playoffs).”

The Lady Bulldogs are already in the playoffs as two teams from each area advance.

Kinston is in a four-team area, but they and Pleasant Home are the only schools to have volleyball teams.