Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 12, 1994 TAG: 9404120093
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Braine, a hitter for Blacksburg High School, had a big season that earned the attention of several colleges.
For that, she won a tight battle against Cave Spring's Emily Rakes and George Wythe's Stacy Green to become the Timesland player of the year in volleyball.
Those three, along with Franklin County's Tanya Jones, North Cross' Blair Calvert, William Byrd's Cathy Smith and Patrick Henry's Pam Witten are on the All-Timesland team.
George Wythe's Lillie Moore is Timesland's coach of the year for the second time in three years. She guided the Maroons to the Group A state championship and has had the most successful program in Timesland the past few years.
Volleyball wasn't always on Braine's mind.
"I always thought I'd be a gymnast," she said. "I used to be pretty short. Then all of a sudden I was taller than everyone else. Usually the tallest gymnast is 5 feet 1. I'm about nine inches too tall."
Braine settled on volleyball and signed with Virginia Tech. Her choice of schools shouldn't have been a surprise; her father, Dave Braine, is Tech's athletic director. Meredith Braine, however, didn't choose Tech for that reason.
"It wasn't a lock," Braine said. "I tried to keep my mind open as far as where I wanted to go. But everything pointed that I wanted to go to Tech. It was an obvious choice after a while.
"The decision did have something to do with the fact that my father was athletic director. That made the decision harder, but it wasn't the main reason [for choosing Tech]."
Radford, North Carolina State, William and Mary, Tulane and Kentucky were interested in Braine for volleyball. Eventually, it came down to Tech, Radford and William and Mary.
In college, Braine probably will move to middle blocker.
She also was a starter on the Blacksburg girls' basketball team that swept to a second consecutive Group AA state title.
"I consider volleyball my No. 1 sport. We didn't go as far as a team this year in volleyball, but I thought we played at a higher level than last year [when Blacksburg made the state tournament]," she said.
Braine played both sports as a sophomore. At that time, she didn't know which one she would concentrate on for college.
"I decided I liked volleyball better and I'm totally dedicated to it," she said. "I didn't start playing until I was in eighth grade, but most of my friends were doing it, so I thought it would be fun."
In coaching, Moore's past three years have been nearly textbook perfect. Wythe has gone 75-5 and finished no lower than second in the state.
Moore refuses to compare the present state championship team to the one from two years ago.
"Early in the season, you couldn't tell [how good Wythe would be]. I had so many youngsters along with three seniors [that played a lot]. They came along and it was a nice surprise at the end," she said.
Besides Green, the other two George Wythe seniors are second-team picks Rhonda Jo Brewer and Deena Jones.
Moore just completed her 19th season.
"I started the program here and the first few years were up and down.
"I don't know how long I'll coach," she said. "Once upon a time, it was 20 years. Now it's a year at a time as long as the kids keep having fun and enjoying what they do."
Green, who like Braine is an outstanding Moore basketball player, was Region C player of the year in volleyball and the Hogoheegee District's top hitter.
Rakes, the top Group AAA high jumper in the state after winning the outdoor and indoor state titles the past two years, was the Roanoke Valley District volleyball player of the year. She's going to North Carolina-Wilmington on a combination scholarship.
Calvert is part of a tough North Cross team that again held its own against public schools. She and second-team pick Heather Perry return for the Raiders next year.
Jones was an All-Northwestern Region selection along with Witten. The PH star took her team to the RVD tournament title and a spot in the regional playoffs.
Smith is a top all-around athlete who also has excelled in basketball for the past two years. Her early start makes her a future contender for Timesland's top girls' athlete.
Other second-team choices are Narrows' Melinda Fleeman, the top Mountain Empire District player; Salem's Heather Moore, who continued the tradition of fine volleyball players for the Spartans; Carroll County's Becky Quesenberry, who shared hitter-of-the-year honors in the New River District with Braine; and James River's Amber Vines, the top player in the Pioneer District.
by CNB