TALLADEGA — Volleyball fans in Talladega County need not wait long to see two of its top-flight volleyball programs in action.They’ll be on the court this afternoon when Lincoln visits Chuck Miller Arena to take on Talladega at 5 p.m.
For the Lady Tigers of THS, the game has the potential to be a measuring stick for the rest of the season.
“They (Lincoln) are a biggie,” senior Kendra O’Neal said Wednesday. “If we actually beat Lincoln – which, we hope we do – that’s gonna get our heads up even higher, to make us feel like we’re gonna have a pretty good season.”
It’s a worthy battle for Talladega and Lincoln. A season ago, Lincoln claimed the county championship, and didn’t drop an in-county match all year. The Lady Bears ultimately advanced to the state playoffs in 3A.
Talladega wasn’t a slouch, either, finishing fourth at the county meet and advancing to the postseason at Muscle Shoals.
“Last year we went pretty far, went to Muscle Shoals, and they had a really good team,” said Jessica Merritt, another senior. “Hopefully, we come back, work harder this year, and go farther than that.”
O’Neal and Merritt are part of a trio of seniors with the Lady Tigers, along with Synetra Scales, who’s playing her first season on the Talladega varsity.
“It’s my first year, so I’m really excited,” said Scales, “my first volleyball game, that I’m starting in.”
Those seniors have a sense of focus that comes from knowing it’s their last go-round.
“Of course, when you’re a senior, you want to come out here and win all your games, do the best that you can because you know you’re not ever gonna come back and play again,” Merritt said. “So basically, what we’re trying to do out here tomorrow is come out here, play hard and come home with a victory. That’s all we hope for.”
Second-year head coach Jeanette Seals added that the sense of focus had lent itself to a summer of hard work.
“We lifted weights all summer long,” she said. “We had that first week after school was out, and then we came back and started lifting weights right after that. So they were lifting weights all through the summer.
“And we’ve been practicing since the last week of July. I just want to see what we can do.”
A matchup against the defending county champs will be a good measuring stick for the Lady Tigers, as well.
“Lincoln’s tough,” Seals said. “They won county last year, and they’re tough. Patty Hansen runs a good program down there.
“I think it’s gonna be good for us, to see what we’re up against – we turn around and play them again the next week.”
As for the program overall, Talladega’s seniors have a clearly-defined set of goals, both for the immediate and the future.
“We look forward to a pretty good season,” O’Neal said. “Taking it all home, coming in first, winning area, winning county.
“We have nothing but three seniors, so when us three leave, and plus there’s seventh-and-eighth-graders coming up. So we should go pretty far for a couple of years.”
Tonight’s match begins at 5 p.m.
