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Harrisburg volleyball reflects on 2009

Posted November 09, 2009 10:00 pm

Luis C. Medina

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Dana Brewer said losing to Anna-Jonesboro in the Vienna Regional was a bitter defeat, but one that should not leave a sour taste for a team as resilient as the 2009 Lady Bulldogs.

"It was a hard pill to swallow when we lost to Anna-Jonesboro in the regionals. I will have to say Anna-Jonesboro played extremely well," Brewer said at Monday's season-ending banquet. "They were sending some torpedoes across the net on their serves. I think we got a little bit rattled and we had been able to recover all season long. But when we knew at stake, we just couldn't do it. But that shouldn't take away from the outstanding season these ladies had."

Harrisburg High School's varsity team finished 21-15 in 2009, placing third in the conference. The season was highlighted by several come-from-behind wins and second place finishes at the Marion, Herrin and Harrisburg Invitational tournaments.

The improvement was seen across the board from a team that struggled at times in 2008. Senior Kelsey Piche won the team's award for most improved player, while fellow senior Molly Berry won the Coaches Award for her improvement. Seniors Megan Wren and Allie Twardowski won the team's offensive and defensive player of the year awards, respectively. Jessi Johnson was voted as the team's most valuable player.

Wren, Piche and Racheal Simmons were named to the Harrisburg Invite's All-Tournament team earlier in the season. Wren, who also made Herrin's All-Tournament team, was joined by Simmons on the Marion-hosted All-Tournament team.

With the seniors moving on, Brewer said she liked what she saw about this year's freshmen, who will be competing at the junior varsity level in 2010.

"These guys had a pretty good year and they improved as they year went along. It just seems like year after year they finally start clicking and getting it right toward the end of the season," Brewer said. "You don't always have to look at win loss records because you're steadily improving."

The constantly improving freshmen left Brewer to deliver this message to this year's jayvee squad.

"Our jayvee group continued to improve over the season and I thought they had an excellent year. You guys better watch out because the freshmen are coming," she said.

Headlining the jayvee group was Marcela Motsinger, the team's rookie of the year.

Even though Athletic Director Jay Thompson has the unenviable task of trying to find Brewer's replacement, Thompson said the program is in a better place because of Brewer's work.

"To tell you the truth, I don't even know if we even had a volleyball coach before Ms. Brewer. I don't remember it," Thompson said. "I do know this. Where we are now compared where we were, I don't think we could be in better shape."

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