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Hernando Today

Season Of Unpredictability

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: December 28, 2008

Suffice to say, the Hernando County volleyball season proved unpredictable.

Throughout the regular season, Nature Coast Technical appeared steamrolling toward a lengthy postseason run, only to get upset by Hudson in its quest for a second consecutive Class 4A, District 8 title and fall in the regional quarterfinals for a fifth straight year.

Central High went 11-4 in the regular season including a win over Nature Coast that earned the Lady Bears a share of the county championship.

Yet in its first Class 5A, District 7 Tournament contest, against Ridgewood, Central went down in four games to miss out on clinching a postseason berth.

Hernando High and Hernando Christian Academy, traditionally successful programs, suffered losing seasons with inexperienced rosters.

So who walked away perhaps the happiest about its overall performance in the 2008 campaign? How about Springstead High?

It was difficult to have forecast such a notion at the start of the year, considering the Lady Eagles haven't had a winning season since the beginning of the Clinton Administration.

Yet first-year Head Coach Darcy Hinton led a revival that produced a respectable 13-13 mark and the program's first district tournament victory in eight years.

Springstead actually pushed top-seeded Nature Coast to the limit in three competitive games of a district semifinal match. Even as the Lady Sharks pulled away, Hinton could be heard telling her girls how proud she was of their performance.

When it came to the 2008 Hernando Today All-County Volleyball Team, picked with input from the county coaches, Nature Coast and Central had the most representation.

Junior Alex Livengood, seniors Kayla Bailey and Lindsey Carper, and freshman Courtney Liddle earned nods from the Lady Sharks, while junior Quynn Fonseca and senior Amanda Morris made it from the Lady Bears.

Springstead sophomore Michelle DeJesus, Hernando junior Katie Killingsworth and HCA senior Jackie Butler comprise the rest of the squad.

As for the individual awards, Livengood repeated as Player of the Year. Hinton clearly earned the respect of her local counterparts, who unanimously picked her for Coach of the Year.

"I'm flattered my peers think of me that way," Hinton said. "When you coach, it really is a selfless act. It's not about you. And that's what I teach the girls. I'm there to serve them. It's (Coach of the Year) nice, but it's not why I'm doing it."

NCT quartet

Nature Coast finished the season 24-4, with a 22-2 record in the regular season. The Lady Sharks lost only to Central and Niceville prior to postseason play.

Livengood earned her third All-County selection, while Bailey is a repeat member of the team. Carper and Liddle are both first-time picks.

Liddle, an outside hitter from Challenger K-8, added another talented player with club experience to the line-up. She had 235 kills, second on the team to Livengood, and team-highs of 111 aces and 424 digs.

"A very strong asset to our program coming in as a freshman," Nature Coast Head Coach Dan Murphy said. "She has the maturity of a late sophomore, early junior.

"She had a great sense for what the other team was doing. Anytime the other team set up anything, she was the one calling it out.

"Her potential, just like Alex, is Division I and a number of teams are looking for her. She has the potential to be all-whatever. She'll take the reins when Alex leaves."

Bailey, a 6-foot-1 middle hitter, again provided a strong presence at the net, with 206 kills and 69 blocks.

"We needed her at the net all the time," Murphy said. "She made the defense on the other team work hard to get around her.

"She leaves quite a void when we're losing a 6'1" middle. We'll miss her hitting, we'll miss her blocking. We have some younger girls that are not as tall. We'll have to finesse them more with speed."

As for Carper, an outside hitter, she posted solid numbers across the board with 62 kills, 64 aces, 18 blocks and 192 digs. But her leadership left the biggest impression.

"She was my thinker out on the floor," Murphy said. "She was my captain all season long. I could count on her being a leader. Lindsey, more than any girl, could be counted on to pump the girls up. She was a good go-between like a captain should be.

"She's a right-side hitter but her strength is mostly on defense. She could play libero but we never used her that way. Her all-around game was there and she played all-around."

Central duo

At middle hitter, Fonseca anchored Central's attack and defense, with 155 kills and 128 blocks. That comes out to an average of 9.7 and 8.0 per match respectively, earning her a second straight All-County selection.

"Her blocking and her hitting were much stronger than in the past," Central Head Coach Vicki Weaver said. "She's only a junior, so we'll see her come back. She's definitely our strongest player across the front.

"…She's going to be a team leader next year. She'll definitely be back, be bigger and stronger and every time she comes out there she loves to be in the gym and loves to work hard. I saw her grow a lot from her sophomore to junior year."

Morris, an outside hitter, added 117 kills to compliment Fonseca and twin sister Blair Morris (78 kills).

"Amanda surprised us," Weaver said. "We moved her from the right side to the left. She has a unique hitting style that makes it hard for blockers to see. It comes in more like a left-handed hitter.

"She really worked hard on her attack over the summer. She's shorter than Blair, so she has to work harder to get around the block and she's very effective with that."

Butler does it again

The other returning All-County pick from 2007 is the 5-foot-11 Butler, who played both outside and middle for the 13-15 Lady Lions.

"She was our top everything," HCA Head Coach Sue Murphy said. "Top in kills, one of our highest in serves. She just had an awesome season.

"When the chips were down, we went to Jackie to score points. She could hit the ball over the block. This year she could direct the ball and improved as a player a lot."

DeJesus caught the eye of several Springstead opponents and was named the program's MVP. She spent time at both setter and libero over the course of the season, averaging 5.2 digs per game.

"The best thing about Michelle was her passion for the sport," Hinton said. "She brought the whole team up. She loved to compete and it has a way of infecting the whole team.

"She's flat out the quickest one in the county. Her speed is unbelievable. Her anticipation of the ball is very good. That combination made her one of the best defensive players in the county."

Killingsworth, a setter, shared team captain duties with senior Breanna Conner for the 6-17 Lady Leopards.

"Katie Killingsworth stepped up to the plate this year and became our other captain with Breanna," Hernando Head Coach Cristi Charlow said. "The thing about Katie Killingsworth is she's an excellent team player. She keeps the girls' spirits up when they're low as well as she's a 100 percent hustler.

"Katie gave 100 percent on the court and off the court. She always hustles for it, whether we were up or down."

2008 Hernando Today All-County Volleyball Team
Player Sch Yr Position
Bailey, Kayla* NCT Sr MH
Butler, Jackie* HCA Sr OH/MH
Carper, Lindsey NCT Sr OH
DeJesus, Michelle SPG So Setter/Libero
Fonseca, Quynn* CEN Jr MH
Killingsworth, Katie HER Jr Setter
Liddle, Courtney NCT Fr OH
Livengood, Alex# NCT Jr MH/OH
Morris, Amanda CEN Sr OH
Player of the Year – Alex Livengood* (NCT)
Coach of the Year – Darcy Hinton (SPG)
* Denotes repeat selection
# Denotes three-time selection

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

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