ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610100040
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
TYPE: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
SOURCE: BILLY RAY STAFF WRITER
To most coaches, a 3-5 record would not equate to a successful campaign.
Everything is relative, the way Pulaski County head volleyball coach Angela Harris sees it.
Relative to years of residing at the bottom of the Roanoke Valley District for close to a decade. With this history, even last season's 1-7 record was a step in the right direction for the third-year coach's team.
The Cougars lone victory in 1995 gave Harris her first sign that the team might be on the upswing. The win came in the district tournament and gave the Cougars their first non-last place finish in recent memory.
"We had been really weak for the last 10 years or so," Harris said. "I saw taking the position as a challenge. I had always wanted to coach volleyball."
After just one win in her first two seasons, Harris said the team took a slightly different approach this time around. The experience represented by five seniors offered hope for a winning season.
"We set our goals really high," Harris said. "But with half the season to go, we decided to change those goals. That took the pressure off us. We have stayed very optimistic all season."
Behind seniors Toni Wright, Lisa Skeens and Mandy Sexton, the team is taking aim at its ultimate goal - a respectable finish in the district tournament.
"We are not going to go into it with a lot of pressure," Harris said. "But I would like to finish in the top three. That is my personal goal."
The biggest difference in the Pulaski County program is the hands-on experience of Harris, who played collegiately at Concord College. With this practical knowledge of the sport came an increase in structure to the program, according to senior Mandy Sexton.
"Our coach is very organized," Sexton said. "She really knows what she is doing. I have been around for four years and we used to just play straight out of the book. She really knows a lot about the sport."
Technical changes Harris introduced were not the only improvement. Team captain Toni Wright said that the team this season is closer than they have even been.
"This year we have a real sense of togetherness," Wright said. "We are all focused on the same thing. In the past, the team has been two individual groups rather than a team. Last year it was the starting six and the players who started the game on the bench, but now we are all playing together."
The togetherness also results from some of the players being teammates in other sports. Both Sexton and Wright are members of the acclaimed Pulaski girl's basketball team. Because they were so used to success on the hardcourt, both said it only served to increase their frustration with the state of the volleyball team.
"The losing was really hard," Sexton said. "When you play on a team that wins like our basketball team it is hard to lose, but last year we just expected it. This year is the first time that I really got upset about losing.
"I think it is because winning is so close."
With the wins within reach this senior class thinks they have left a solid foundation on which build.
"We are setting the foundation and are the beginning of a winning tradition," Sexton said. "The team can use this season as a stepping stone to improve on."
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB