MORGAN COUNTY
The Morgan County volleyball team found itself at the pinnacle of Class 3A at the end of last season and continues to develop as a group this offseason.
The Spike Dogs defeated the Oconee County Warriors in the fourth set of last season’s GHSA state championship match, and head coach Kat Goodwin told the Lake Oconee News that she’s excited to have multiple returning starters to lead the way.
“Our setter – who’s going to be a senior this year, Allie Cox – has always been a natural leader on the court because of her position, but has stepped up even more so now and has been playing well,” Goodwin said.
“Quinn Butler is looking absolutely amazing on the outside and has grown so much already since last year. We have a young team returning and our juniors have done a great job getting them acclimated to the team.”
Up to this point in the summer, the Spike Dogs have only come together to practice as a team a couple of times. This is because every single one of the girls on the roster plays on a club team during the offseason.
Due to scheduling difficulties and the amount of volleyball being played over the summer, Goodwin elected to give the whole team the month of June off from team activities.
Now, Morgan County prepares for an upcoming round-robin event at Apalachee High School at the end of the month. There, the girls will face other programs of all sizes, from Mill Creek to Monroe Area, and work on their chemistry together.
Goodwin followed a similar schedule last summer, and really believes it benefits the girls and keeps them from getting burned out early.
“All my girls play competitive travel club, and some of them play all year-round, so we gave them some time off in June to avoid scheduling conflicts and potential injury,” Goodwin said. “We start back up today before really getting into practicing and scrimmaging other teams next week.”
The Spike Dogs will also be without some of its best players from last season.
Pressley Hill, Mackenzie Pitzer and Addy Christian were all instrumental in the state championship run and graduated and moved from Morgan County..
On top of that, the Spike Dogs biggest loss might be two-time All-State athlete and Region 4-AAA Player of the Year Haedyn Crumbley. Unfortunately, Crumbley broke her leg during club season a few months ago, and it is uncertain if she will be back with the team before the end of the year.
Even though Morgan County is missing some talent, Goodwin acknowledged they have a lot of young girls stepping up ready to make their mark on the court.
Furthermore, Goodwin acknowledged that she’s learned so much over the past year as a coach and wants to start implementing a more hands-off approach.
“We all learn a lot about ourselves, and I’ve always been an independent person, but last season since I had a baby, he was at our practices a lot, so I had to surrender a lot of control,” Goodwin said.
“I got to watch the rest of my staff, PT Hooten, Ragan Segrest and Jamie Williams, implement things I would’ve never thought to. We have a whole team of coaches behind the girls, and we want to use all of them effectively.”
Looking ahead, the Spike Dogs will get their championship rematch against Oconee County in the season-opener on Aug. 15, before facing other tough non-region opponents such as Greater Atlanta Christian and Cherokee Bluff.