Lady Pats set sights on potential repeat

Lady Pats set sights on potential repeat

Seven seniors anchor Marion volleyball in 2016

Sports Editor There are certain perks to winning a state championship, especially in Marion, Arkansas.

A prime example of this has been the treatment afforded to the Marion Lady Patriots volleyball team following their 2015 Class 6A state title that they captured on October 31 of last year.

On November 17, the Crittenden County Quorum Court declared the entire day “Lady Patriot Day” to celebrate their hometown heroes.

Colton’s manager E.J.

Miller treated the team to dinner following the achievement, as did a group of church members at Marion United Methodist Church.

At the Marion Christmas parade, the team got its own float to be displayed for the entire town.

In a lot of ways, the celebration didn’t stop until the spring semester at the school, well into Marion’s offseason program.

At the end of the day, how does a team turn the page on an unforgettable season? How does one get motivated to try and do it all again the following year?

“That’s a good question,” admits Marion head volleyball coach Lisa Beasley. “Because we definitely enjoyed it. Unless you really experience it, it’s hard to explain. It is harder to defend a title, I think, especially in our case because we have so many returnees this year. But in the same breath, they’ve been there, they’ve done that. They’ve had that feeling and I think that they’d want to do it again.”

When last seen, the 2015 Lady Pats capped off a 324 overall season with that state title, topping Greenwood, the No. 1 seed from the Class 6A-Central, in three straight impressive sets at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs in front of a healthy throng of Marion supporters.

Marion graduated three players from that team in May, including four-year starter Diane Phillips who signed to play volleyball at Arkansas State University.

However, as Beasley alluded to, Marion should still have plenty of firepower, even without Phillips, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2015 state tournament.

Seven seniors highlight this season’s varsity roster, all of whom will be counted on heavily in 2016.

In Hope Phipps, Maggie Aureli, Annalee Parker, Sarah Burford, Ally Bramucci, Sara Betts and Gabi Catt, Marion boasts the majority of the group that has been to back-toback state finals, while posting a two-year record of 59-8.

“This group of seniors coming up all have such a genuine way about them,” Beasley says of her seven 2017ers. “Their work ethic is outstanding, their personalities are great, attitudes are awesome. Their parents are great. They’re really and truly a gift from God to me.”

The senior-laden group will all likely stay in the positions where they’re most comfortable from the past two years with Parker and Betts playing on the outside and hitting, Catt and Bramucci in the middle defending at the net and setting, Phipps back for her third tour of duty at libero, with Burford and Aureli’s versatility filling in the gaps for Marion.

“Having six of the seven starters back is always a good thing,” Beasley explains. “But, finding the chemistry, where we mesh well and finding people to fill in those roles, that’s my job and I’m gonna earn my money this year. But, I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls to do it with, and I’m pretty excited at the same time.”

Beasley said that her lineups will depend upon their matchup on that particular day.

Last season, when Phillips missed over three weeks of action, junior Destiny King was elevated to playing a lot of rotations with the starters. That has been the case so far in the summer, as King has joined Aureli and juniors Caroline Brinkley and Carly Russell stepping up to fill Phillips’s large shoes.

While four players will attempt to fill in for one spot, Beasley has also looked to create some depth behind Catt and Bramucci, in the event of some longer games, especially in the heat of the early season.

That’s where junior Lillian Fogleman has stood out to the coach, and will likely become the third part of what Beasley hopes is a reliable triumvirate of front-liners.

When Marion takes the court they will do so facing a considerably newlooking conference schedule. Gone are the days of the 7A/6A-East and contests against North Little Rock, Cabot and Little Rock Central, but the new slate may actually be more challenging, from top to bottom.

For starters, the Lady Pats will not be the only defending state champion in their district in 2016 as Marion will now be playing in the 6A/5A-East conference with last year’s Class 5A champion, Valley View. Marion will travel to play the Lady Blazers on August 30 before hosting them on September 27.

Other new faces will include home-and-away outings against Wynne, Blytheville, Greene County Tech, Paragould, Forrest City and Nettleton, as well as existing league rivalries against West Memphis and Jonesboro.

“A lot of these teams are schools that we always want to play in the nonconference because they’re good and a nice challenge for us,” Beasley says of her team’s new-look league. “We’re replacing a strong North Little Rock team with a good Valley View team. It’s gonna be a dogfight every match, no matter who we play. It’ll make us better in the end, having that competitiveness and being tested like that.”

As a result of the new district, teams will now play a district tournament that from October 16 until October 22, and the results of that tournament will seed teams entering the state tournament.

“That may be the con of our new conference,” says Beasley. “I feel like it takes away a little bit from your regular season. I feel like you should be rewarded for having a good run in your season, and that may not necessarily be the case with this.”

After the round-robin regular season district schedule, Marion will enter the postseason district tournament against league rivals West Memphis and Jonesboro, while Mountain Home, Searcy, Jacksonville and Little Rock Hall. Pine Bluff is the eighth member of the larger 6A-East conference, but that school does not play volleyball. Marion will play Pine Bluff in football, however.

Marion will host its annual senior jamboree on August 18 and that event will begin at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Pats will open their regular season on the road against league sleeper Greene County Tech before playing Wynne at home on August 25.

By Chuck Livingston