When you talk about volleyball in this area one of the teams you hear about the most is Cave Spring High School. The Knights, who have become one of the premier teams in the state, will be returning five players off of last year’s team that cruised all of the way to the state semifinals.
Cave Spring made a strong run in 2009, as they claimed the River River District and Region IV crowns, before falling to eventual state champion Loudoun County 23-25, 25-18, 28-30, 25-23, 15-10 in the Group AA state semifinals to end its season with a 23-4 record.
Leading the Knights into battle this season are junior Morgan Shannon, an outside hitter, who was named to the All-Group AA first team. In 2009, Shannon tallied 360 kills (.319 hitting percentage), 285 digs and 61 aces. Junior Lauren Sledd, who posted 184 kills (.224 hitting percentage), 314 digs and 53 aces, senior co-captain Corey Jacobson, who had 104 kills (.192 hitting percentage) and 45 blocks, senior co-captain Rebekah Henderson, who notched 212 digs and 70 aces in 2009, junior Shannon Craighead, who was out with a knee injury last fall, will be returning to the line-up.
Other Knights who will see court time include junior Kelsey Sine (she spent part of last season recovering from a knee injury), sophomore Sarah Smith, senior Rachel Kennedy, junior Kelli Long, sophomore Alyssa McKinley, sophomore Marta Timmerman, freshman Kallie Wilkes and freshman Olivia Sass.
“For our strengths we have ball control, defense and speed,” said head coach Tamalyn Tanis, who is leading the Knights charge for her ninth season. She’s already won several state titles with Cave Spring, and is assisted by her husband Mark.
“Once again, we are very undersized compared to teams in our district, so we will have to rely on consistency with our ball control to prolong rallies and give our offense time to work,” said Tanis.
To get back to the state championships in 2010, Cave Spring will once again have to battle a very competitive district slate. “It will between Hidden Valley, Cave Spring and Blacksburg, with Salem making a move late in the season,” predicts Tanis. “[I’m] not sure yet who will win the district regular season. Hidden Valley has a big size advantage.” Don’t bet against the Knights being there at the end however.
By David Grimes [email protected]