Sports Update
Building block: Lady Panthers look to continue ascension in 2012
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
The Plano East volleyball team has been on upward climb for the past two seasons.
Since nearly bottoming out at 2-8 in District 8-5A in 2009, the Lady Panthers have seen their district win total rise in the two years to follow.
They hope for more of the same in 2012.
"I want to make sure we put ourselves in position to make a good, deep playoff run," said Steven Jones, East head coach. "Being in the fourth seed like last year is not good enough. If we're not at least the second seed in our district, for me it'll be a disappointment."
"I feel like this is going to be a good season for us," added Gabby Litwin, East senior defensive specialist. "District is going to be really short this year, but I feel like we can be near the top and go to the playoffs, for sure."
The bar is continually rising for East, which improved to four district wins in 2010 and seven last year, which proved good enough for 8-5A's final playoff spot. Those past two seasons were under Jones' guise, with a youthful core along for every step of the ride. Only Litwin and senior Sammy Myers were members of the 2009 team as freshmen, with senior Kayla Burling and junior McKenzie Shea joining the mix one year later as returners from Jones' inaugural season.
Fast forward to this year and the Lady Panthers return all but three players from 2011.
"We basically have the same core as we did last year," Shea said, "which helps a lot because we all know what it takes to be in playoff position like last year."
It's meant one more year of familiarity playing together, which Jones anticipates will pay dividends in the team's on-court demeanor.
"I think we'll be much more aggressive on offense," he said. "With the experience this team has, it's going to allow them to do a lot more than we were able to do last year. I think the offense can be a lot quicker and more aggressive."
The bulk of that attack remains intact. The team's most taxing loss is first team all-district selection Nkiru Udenze, who graduated.
"[Udenze] was an amazing outsider hitter, but was also a really good DS," Jones said. "When she graduated, that basically opened up two spots for us."
The Lady Panthers will look to fill Udenze's offensive contributions with junior Lily Porsa, who joins Burling up front at outside hitter.
"For a girl who's only 5-foot-7, [Porsa] can jump out of the gym," Jones said. "[Burling] had a great offseason and is skying as high as ever, and hitting the ball as hard. She's excited and feels like she has something to prove this year."
Orchestrating the East attack is junior McKenzie Shea, another first team all-district selection in 2011, who resumes her perch at setter for the third straight season.
"When [Shea] came in as a freshman, you could tell she knew the game," Jones said. "As a sophomore, she knew she could play the game and as a junior, she's controlling the game and that's exciting to see."
Myers, a second team all-district pick last year, is back to man the middle alongside another returning starter in senior Saryn Nelson, with JV converts in junior Maggie Becker and senior Symone Stevenson also pushing for reps. All-district second teamer Litwin anchors the defense, with Jones also anticipating contributions in the back row from junior Brianna Blagowsky.
"[Litwin] has really changed this defense around," he said. "From the very first ball hit in practice, she's already diving for it. She changes the atmosphere of all the other DSs with her attitude and effort."
While the Lady Panthers already have a leg up on the field with their on-court chemistry, there's still the process of adding new wrinkles to the team's repertoire and assuring the squad is hitting its stride by district. They'll have plenty of time to do so, with the revamped District 10-5A containing just six teams with the arrival of McKinney Boyd and McKinney to join Plano ISD and Allen.
District play won't commence until Sept. 21 as the Lady Panthers' five-week non-district trek continues Friday and Saturday at the Duncanville Tournament of Champions.
"I want to see how well they're playing their positions so we can work on rotations and start game planning a bit more," Jones said. "I want these girls to know they're going to have to fight for their spot, which makes it easier for me to know when to put them in that spot."
Since nearly bottoming out at 2-8 in District 8-5A in 2009, the Lady Panthers have seen their district win total rise in the two years to follow.
They hope for more of the same in 2012.
"I want to make sure we put ourselves in position to make a good, deep playoff run," said Steven Jones, East head coach. "Being in the fourth seed like last year is not good enough. If we're not at least the second seed in our district, for me it'll be a disappointment."
"I feel like this is going to be a good season for us," added Gabby Litwin, East senior defensive specialist. "District is going to be really short this year, but I feel like we can be near the top and go to the playoffs, for sure."
The bar is continually rising for East, which improved to four district wins in 2010 and seven last year, which proved good enough for 8-5A's final playoff spot. Those past two seasons were under Jones' guise, with a youthful core along for every step of the ride. Only Litwin and senior Sammy Myers were members of the 2009 team as freshmen, with senior Kayla Burling and junior McKenzie Shea joining the mix one year later as returners from Jones' inaugural season.
Fast forward to this year and the Lady Panthers return all but three players from 2011.
"We basically have the same core as we did last year," Shea said, "which helps a lot because we all know what it takes to be in playoff position like last year."
It's meant one more year of familiarity playing together, which Jones anticipates will pay dividends in the team's on-court demeanor.
"I think we'll be much more aggressive on offense," he said. "With the experience this team has, it's going to allow them to do a lot more than we were able to do last year. I think the offense can be a lot quicker and more aggressive."
The bulk of that attack remains intact. The team's most taxing loss is first team all-district selection Nkiru Udenze, who graduated.
"[Udenze] was an amazing outsider hitter, but was also a really good DS," Jones said. "When she graduated, that basically opened up two spots for us."
The Lady Panthers will look to fill Udenze's offensive contributions with junior Lily Porsa, who joins Burling up front at outside hitter.
"For a girl who's only 5-foot-7, [Porsa] can jump out of the gym," Jones said. "[Burling] had a great offseason and is skying as high as ever, and hitting the ball as hard. She's excited and feels like she has something to prove this year."
Orchestrating the East attack is junior McKenzie Shea, another first team all-district selection in 2011, who resumes her perch at setter for the third straight season.
"When [Shea] came in as a freshman, you could tell she knew the game," Jones said. "As a sophomore, she knew she could play the game and as a junior, she's controlling the game and that's exciting to see."
Myers, a second team all-district pick last year, is back to man the middle alongside another returning starter in senior Saryn Nelson, with JV converts in junior Maggie Becker and senior Symone Stevenson also pushing for reps. All-district second teamer Litwin anchors the defense, with Jones also anticipating contributions in the back row from junior Brianna Blagowsky.
"[Litwin] has really changed this defense around," he said. "From the very first ball hit in practice, she's already diving for it. She changes the atmosphere of all the other DSs with her attitude and effort."
While the Lady Panthers already have a leg up on the field with their on-court chemistry, there's still the process of adding new wrinkles to the team's repertoire and assuring the squad is hitting its stride by district. They'll have plenty of time to do so, with the revamped District 10-5A containing just six teams with the arrival of McKinney Boyd and McKinney to join Plano ISD and Allen.
District play won't commence until Sept. 21 as the Lady Panthers' five-week non-district trek continues Friday and Saturday at the Duncanville Tournament of Champions.
"I want to see how well they're playing their positions so we can work on rotations and start game planning a bit more," Jones said. "I want these girls to know they're going to have to fight for their spot, which makes it easier for me to know when to put them in that spot."
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