Rising to the top

No longer is the Spain Park High School volleyball team an up-and-comer. It has arrived at the top and is competing with the best the state has to offer.

Kellye Bowen was tasked with reviving a dormant program, and in three years’ time has done just that. Wins have become the expectation, and in 2016, the Jags finished with a 26-15 mark, by far the best in Bowen’s tenure. 

Last fall, the Jags fell victim to an area that boasted three stout teams, with only two allowed to advance past the area tournament. Mountain Brook and Oak Mountain were those other two squads. Both made the state tournament and Mountain Brook went on to win its third straight Class 7A championship.

“(Last year) was a huge step forward in our program,” Bowen said. “There was never a doubt in my mind that we were going to compete when we walked onto the floor.”

Bowen mentioned being mere points from notching wins against the two best teams in the state. The Jags took both Mountain Brook and Hoover (the other state finalist) to five sets and had chances to claim the matches. She also credited the eight seniors for leaving their mark in a big way.

Now, it’s up to the three returnees and a new cast of characters to maintain Spain Park’s status. Marlee Johnson and Sha’Kevia Hogan return as a pair of powerful outside hitters who can strike fear into every opponent. Both are six-rotation players, and Johnson has started on varsity since her freshman year.

Caroline Horton will be the team’s senior setter. While she didn’t garner a ton of court time last fall, she learned a great deal from entrenched setter Ellie Norton and has really impressed leading into the season.

“This year, she’s just taken her role and gone full blast with it,” said Bowen. “She’s lights out every day with her energy and her spunkiness.”

Allie DeSantis begins a long list of players moving up from the junior varsity team. Bowen describes her as a “bulldog” on the court. Her diminutive frame may fool opponents when she initially walks onto the floor, but that impression does not last long.

“She’s not very big, but she’s just so competitive, so energetic,” Bowen said.

The competition to be the team’s libero is between Madelyn Lewis and Lexie Fowler. Whichever one doesn’t claim the libero spot should still see time on the court, as Bowen called both “really good defensive players.”

Sophomores Paris Moore and Olivia Stark will hold down the middle for the Jags, and Bowen said they continue to get better every day. Lora Watkins and Kendall Irwin are both currently working on the right side.

With a relatively inexperienced team, the learning curve is steep, but as of the summer, the young players were navigating that climb quickly.

“There’s nowhere to go but up,” Bowen said. “There’s lot of learning every single day, lots and lots and lots of learning.”

The natural tendency will be to rely on Johnson and Hogan to put every ball down on the outside, but Bowen wants all spots to be involved in the offense. She also thinks this group could be her best defensive team yet.

With so many young players, there is always some level of uncertainty. But with each day, Bowen grows more comfortable with what she has.

“I think this will be one of my most fun groups to work with, because we’ve got a lot of potential and we’re not at our peak at all,” she said.

The Jags open the season at Thompson on Aug. 31, followed by Hoover’s Juanita Boddie Tournament over the weekend. Spain Park will open its home slate against Hoover on Sept. 7.