THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 14, 1996 TAG: 9602130104
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
McKEESHA TANN, Jenny Harmon and Katherine Dunford are seeing a lot of each other these days.
The three Beach district basketball players are spending their Sundays at the Tidewater Volleyball Center or on the road traveling to face a Junior Olympic volleyball opponent. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the weekend teammates often meet on opposite sides of the court in a basketball matchup.
``It's not that hard,'' Tann said of the teammate/opponent swing. ``I really don't think about it. I never played with any of them before, so I just try to fit in.''
The only player on coach Owen Dixon's Atlantic Rim Power League (ARPL) under-18 team that Tann had played with was Alija Pittenger. Pittenger, a powerful hitter for First Colonial, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in her knee during a recent basketball game and is out for the season.
``We have to adapt to not having Alija; she was one of the strongest players on our team,'' Tann said. ``I played with her for two years before.''
The loss of Pittenger, an experienced Junior Olympic standout, from the nine-member squad was devastating. Dixon and his players learned of Pittenger's loss while they were in Columbia, Md., on the eve of their first game. Indian River's Quiana White, an expected starter, also failed to make the trip. The remaining team of Kirsten Claiborne (Tabb), Dunford (Cox), Casey Haney (Tabb), Harmon (Salem), Tann (Ocean Lakes), Danielle Wozniel (Princess Anne) and Emerald Zemedkun (Kempsville) quickly regrouped and posted a 2-4 tournament record.
Adding to the tournament confusion was the implementation of a system none of the players had seen or played before they began Junior Olympic practice in December.
``I'm trying to build them up with everybody learning what they're doing,'' Dixon said. ``It's a college-level system and one they're going to have to learn eventually, I hope.''
Furthermore, Harmon, Tann, Dunford and White are each in the heart of basketball season. Harmon, a sophomore, starts for talent-laden Salem and averages 9.5 points per game. Tann, an Ocean Lakes junior, posts 11.5, Indian River senior White tallies 7.3 and Dunford chips in 3.1.
Harmon has a chance to play deep into the postseason. The Sun Devils (10-5, 8-3), have handed top-ranked Kempsville its only two losses this season.
None of the current players have played volleyball together consistently. Tann spent her middle-school career at First Colonial. When the Beach was redistricted, she became one of the original Dolphins. She can relate to Pittenger's injury: Tann spent last summer recovering from a similar ACL knee injury. This is her first full athletic year and her inaugural Junior Olympic season.
``McKeesha is one who hasn't played at this level, but she's strong physically,'' Dixon said. ``She has a good size and she's very coachable. She absorbs it like a sponge.''
Each player on the team was an all-district volleyball selection. Although Tann made the team, she has endured the Dolphins' struggles to build an athletic program. Her basketball team is 0-13 and the volleyball team hardly fared better.
But Tann is optimistic of a brighter future. And enjoying the chance to be seen by volleyball scouts at Junior Olympic tournaments.
``I don't have to accept losing,'' Tann said. ``But I know it's going to take a while to build it up.''
Her rebuilding experience could be crucial in her Junior Olympic endeavors. The eight players meet every Sunday to practice, unless they have a competition. Tournaments are not optionally attended in the ARPL. If a team misses a scheduled event, it is eliminated from the league.
Each team pays $1,000 for the right to play six solid teams in each tournament. Points are awarded for tournament records and used to seed teams in a postseason power series. The series winner receives a bid to the national competition.
Two weeks after the series, there is a regional tournament. That winner also advances to nationals.
``The one thing I miss that would make this team even better,'' says Dixon, ``is a practice schedule that would put this group together four or five days a week. We have to adjust pretty quickly.'' ILLUSTRATION: VOLLEYBALL
Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
McKeesha Tann, a junior, is a guard/forward in basketball and an
outside hitter on the volleyball team at Ocean Lakes.
Jenny Harmon, soph.,
center/forward and hitter for Salem.
Katherine Dunford,
junior, guard and setter for Cox.
by CNB