The volleyball season is heating up, as Area Tournaments are right around the corner. In Cobb County, the Pope Lady Greyhounds are looking strong towards the end of the year and are aiming for their first state title under head coach Bryan Jones (yes, we share the same name with different spellings). They have come close over the last few years and certainly have the talent to get over the hump this year. In two seasons, Pope has only lost seven matches and recently won the Cobb County Tournament.
Even though they have yet to win a state title, the Lady Greyhounds have lately become one of the most feared programs in the county; in the last three seasons, they have won 34 or more matches. Jones will not take all the credit, however: he gives plenty of credit to his staff.
“I have been lucky to have such great coaches around me,” Jones said. “About five years ago, we were able to start a middle school program to allow girls to get into volleyball at an earlier age. Before that it would not be uncommon for us to have girls show up at tryouts who had never actually played the sport. Now, girls come into tryouts, even at the JV level, with two to four years of experience.”
YOUNG AND RESTLESS
With a roster loaded with youth, the Lady Greyhounds promise to be a top-level team for a long time. Pope’s roster consists of one senior, three juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen.
“It is awesome to be winning with such a young team,” Jones said. “They are only going to get better as the years go by. Plus, getting the younger players all this big-game experience is huge.”
The players already have had some big-game experience, as they lost to St. Paul’s Episcopal (Ala.) in the Gold Bracket Finals, defeated Marietta in the Sequoyah Classic Finals and recently defeated Kell in the Cobb County Tournament Finals. The leadership of captains Mary Hoey, Hannah Farmer and Sarah Morris has been solid for the Lady Greyhounds, largely contributing to the team’s big-time victories.
“They have really stepped it up,” Jones added. “All three set a great example for our other players. They work hard, and really lead with their actions. They truly put the team first.”
Interestingly enough, Pope will only get better – the JV team has won 24 of 25 matches this season. The Lady Greyhounds don’t rebuild, they simply reload.
OVER THE HUMP …
This week, the team ends the regular season with a tri-match against Walton and Woodstock, and will then make its way through the Area Tournament (Oct. 16-18). The Lady Greyhounds are going to be the favorites to win but they still have to hold off quality teams such as Kell, Lassiter and Walton. Last year, the Lady Greyhounds were able to win the Area Tournament in one of the best seasons in school history. But in the quarterfinals of the state tournament, they faced the eventual champs in Northview, and though they were able to hang with the Lady Titans, Northview capitalized on errors to come away with the victory.
And while the mistakes have been minimized this season, Jones admits that this team has a few weaknesses.
“It depends on the day,” he said. “Some days serve receive is the strongest part of our game and some days it’s one of our weakest aspects of the game. Other days it’s hitting, others it’s serving. I don’t think I could say one thing.”
Still, with the best record in the powerful Area 1-AAAAA, there are plenty of strengths.
“This team plays older than you’d expect,” Jones said. “Yes, we are young, but only in years. [The players] do not get worried if we give up the lead. They know to keep fighting.”
What it all comes down to, however, is which team shows up when it’s game time, and the Lady Greyhounds have done it better than anyone else in the county this year. Can they win the state title? We’ll find out soon enough.
Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.
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