Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 4, 1993 TAG: 9302040338
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOHN MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SALEM VOLLEYBALL TEAM HAS MATURITY ON ITS SIDE
It was early afternoon, during exam break, and much of Salem High School was vacant.But in the gym, a test was under way, and most of the students were passing with flying colors.
The voice of volleyball coach David Turk and the sounds of cupped hands hitting leather, could be heard from some distance.
"Hit the target zone," Turk instructed an audience dominated by ponytails, knee pads, and oversized T-shirts. "Hitting `up' is not good enough! Hit the target zone!"
Every eight seconds, Turk was delivering a crisp serve to a different team member. He didn't want the serve to be returned across the net. He was asking for the proper pass, so the ball would be put in a position to be set for a spike.
As each candidate prepared to respond, a common utterance preceded the hit.
"I got it," she would say. Most of the players backed their claims. The ball was repeatedly deflected, moving in a soft arc toward the designated setter.
"Volleyball is much more of a team sport than other sports," Turk explained, "because in order to be effective, three different players have to handle the ball correctly."
Judging by his record, Turk seems to be handling his team correctly. Heading into important matches with William Byrd and Northside, the Spartans owned a 10-0 record; 6-0 in the Blue Ridge District.
Salem has enjoyed much success over the past several seasons in Group AA competition, routinely advancing to the regional level and once getting as far as the state semi-finals.
This year could be the pinnacle.
"We've got a lot of maturity in our players," admitted Turk, who also coaches volleyball at Hollins College. "We've beaten [last year's state champion] Rustburg in [two out of] three games, and we came back to beat Bassett after we were behind 10-5 in the third game.
"We called a couple of timeouts, and I told our team it was time to turn it up a gear. They responded well. We won 15-11."
Salem starts a seasoned group of four seniors, led by captain Shannon Harrison.
Harrison is "our go-to player," according to Turk. "She's just a super athlete." Harrison, who want to play volleyball and basketball in college, was last year's player-of-the-year in the district, first-team all region, first-team all-Timesland, and second team all-state.
The Salem senior quartet also includes Colette May, Amy Atkins and Holly Woods. Underclassmen Heather Moore and Kim Hammer round out the starting unit.
"We have the potential to go to the state," said Harrison, who also was first-team all-district in basketball. "If we keep working hard and raising our intensity, maybe our opponents won't want to play us. You know, maybe we'll intimidate them."
Salem has three regular-season matches remaining before the district tournament starts Feb. 13 at Rockbridge County. Both the regional and state tournaments will be held at Jefferson Forest High School in Forest.
Atkins is familiar with state competition in another sport. She won 13 games as the star pitcher for last year's softball team which advanced to the state semifinals.
"I've played softball for more years than volleyball," Atkins said. "But recently I've been concentrating more on volleyball. This team really has quality."
At 5 feet 11, Atkins is the tallest player on the team. "We're just average in size," Turk said, "but our players have good timing and the ability to reach the ball at the peak of their jump."
May attributes much of the team's success to camaraderie. "If you enjoy the sport and get along with one another, that makes practice fun," she said.
On top of its skilled starters, Salem also boasts considerable depth. Senior Jennifer Linton, for example, is good enough to start, Turk said, but her religious beliefs prohibit her from playing Friday night and Saturday games.
Linton belongs to the Worldwide Church of God, and intends to play college volleyball at a church school, Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas.
Like her teammates, Linton is also a multisport performer. She ran on the cross-country team, and is district champion in the high jump.
"I like hitting the ball," Linton said. "I'm a front-row player."
Although Salem is undefeated, Turk is not taking anything for granted. "There's so much emotion in volleyball," Turk said. "If a team gets hot, it can score three, four, five, six points in two or three minutes. A team can roll you. You can lose an important match real easily."