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Leading Lady (Shark)

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

Nature Coast junior Alex Livengood earned Hernando Today Player of the Year honors for a second straight year.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: December 28, 2008

Over the past three seasons, Nature Coast Technical's volleyball team has a combined record of 55-21, three regional berths and one district championship to its credit.

Head Coach Dan Murphy has enjoyed the luxury of having a stable core group that essentially played together throughout that period, suffering minimal losses to graduation.

Amongst this collection of all-stars that made the Lady Sharks the county's most dominant team, one player consistently stood out above the rest.

Last season, Alex Livengood built on an impressive freshman season and put together a sophomore campaign that earned her Hernando Today Player of the Year honors.

This year as a junior, Livengood continued to put together a superlative prep career, leading Nature Coast to a 24-4 mark and once again garnering Player of the Year.

"I think it's an honor that it's given to me again," Livengood said. "We had such a great year and everybody played really well.

"I think this season was the best season out of the whole school (history). Everybody stepped up to their potential. We wanted to get further than we have in the past. We really wanted to get further into states but unfortunately we broke down."

Rocket launcher

Despite their sparkling record, the Lady Sharks' season did end in disappointment, first losing the district championship to Hudson and their first regional match to Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic.

However, Livengood, the 17-year-old daughter of Brooksville's Jeff and Cile Livengood, was far from disappointing on an individual level, constantly launching the trademark hard spikes that typically left opponents overmatched and sometimes ducking for cover.

She posted a team-high 391kills, an average of 4.3 per game. She was successful on 52.3 percent of her attempts. She also notched 107 aces, 35 blocks and 209 digs.

"She had a better year than least year. Her stats were higher in every category," Murphy said. "Her hitting is her strongest asset. She definitely creams the ball, no doubt about that. She jumps as high as anybody.

"No matter if she got a great set or a bad set, she made the best of it. Last year she'd get upset and smack it into the wall. This year she kept it in play or hit it off the hands out of bounds."

Murphy noted other improvements in Livengood's all-around game that contributed to her increased success.

"She was getting around the block a little stronger, a little better. But she's got to get help on sets for that, too," Murphy said. "Her defense was stronger this year than last year.

"If she can work to get a little stronger on placements of her hits, mix up the speed of her hits instead of whacking it straight down, she'll be that much more effective."

Livengood agreed that she had a better season this time around, yet admitted she's capable of much more.

"I think I was better defensively," Livengood said. "Last year I was shanking them everywhere. This year I was I getting it to the setter and hitting a little bit smarter as far as where to place them on the court.

"I think I need to improve a little bit more on hustle and keeping my head in the game. I think I'll have more smart plays."

Additionally she would like to improve upon her leadership skills, including not dwelling on anything bad that might happen over the course of a match and keeping her teammates motivated.

Colleges calling

The next season should be an important one, with major colleges already inquiring about her future plans.

She said she has received letters since the end of eighth grade from schools such as Baylor, UCLA, Syracuse, Creighton, Ohio State, Ohio and USF.

"We'll see how next year goes," Livengood said. "Who's still interested and who's not and see if I can narrow it down to where I really want to go."

Right now she is not participating in club volleyball, instead just working out as well as riding horses, another activity that has her interest.

Next season she'll have even more responsibility, with several key teammates moving on. The Lady Sharks will look to her to carry them more than ever if they are to make a sixth straight regional appearance.

"It'll be a very big year. It'll be her and (All-County freshman) Courtney Liddle returning from the team this year," Murphy said. "It'll be a bigger weight on her shoulders."

BY THE NUMBERS: ALEX LIVENGOOD
Kills: 391
Aces: 107
Blocks: 35
Digs: 209

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at 352-544-5288 or cbernhardt@hernandotoday.com.

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