Photo by Kyle Parmley.
Hoover vs. Spain Park Volleyball
Paris Morris (6) moves from the middle to the outside, as the Jags will rely on her power this fall. Morris has played in the middle each of the past two seasons.
Logic dictates that at some point, the Spain Park High School volleyball team’s trend will turn in the other direction. At the very least, it should plateau.
But it hasn’t yet, as head coach Kellye Bowen enters her sixth season as the Jaguars’ head coach.
In each season of her tenure, Spain Park’s winning percentage has increased, with the program climbing from nine wins in 2014 to a whopping 33 victories last fall.
“We took another step forward,” Bowen said regarding the 2018 season.
The Jags were unlucky in the sense that they drew crosstown rival and eventual Class 7A semifinalist Hoover and lost in the first round of the North Super Regional. A win in that match would have propelled Spain Park volleyball to its first state tournament appearance in school history.
“We walk on the floor and we’re not scared anymore,” Bowen said. “That’s going to relay over into this year’s team. They’re in every match. Their focus, mindset and accountability has gone up.”
But now, it’s realistic to believe the Jags can get to the state tournament. It’s definitely an objective for Spain Park, but the team’s focus is much more centered in the present.
“That’s obviously your end goal,” Bowen said. “Our language within our program is ‘progress daily.’ We’re not worried about October right now. How can you progress over the next 11 weeks? I don’t want them to peak in September and come October we’re flat.”
Bowen is going to rely on the team’s leaders to make that a reality. Spain Park has six seniors, five of whom played a significant role last fall.
Lexie Fowler will return as the team’s libero and will play all six rotations. She will also serve as a team captain, and Bowen lauds her “bulldog mentality.”
Paris Morris has played in the middle each of the past two seasons, supporting the Jags’ dominant outside hitters like Marlee Johnson and Sha’Kevia Hogan. Now, it’s her turn to provide that powerful presence on the outside.
Kendall Irwin can play on the left or right side of the court and Olivia Stark plays in the middle and on the right side. Jessica Veal is also back as a setter. All five of them are seniors that played big roles last year. The sixth senior, Alex Wright, did not play last year but is going to prove critical in the middle, as she stands over six feet.
Katelyn Walsh is a junior that will play on the back row as a defensive specialist. Abby Byrd and can play on the right side or as a setter. Bella Pretnar moves up from the junior varsity squad and is making the transition to defensive specialist after playing as a setter last year. Katelyn Wilks transferred to Spain Park from Fairhope and can be a right or left side hitter.
The team has a pair of sophomores that will make significant contributions. Audrey Rothman played last season and will play all six rotations this fall. She possesses a quiet personality, but her game is anything but that. She stands 6-foot-4 and has already committed to Florida State.
Emmie Tidwell has made the move from outside hitter to setter and could be a second setter along with Veal if the Jags choose to run a 6-2 formation at times.
Bowen said Spain Park’s potential this year is “as far as they want to take it.”
“It’s a great group of personalities and they play hard, so we’ll see,” she said.
