James Clemens volleyball perfect in Area 16, Bob Jones next
James Clemens' Haley Hop returns a shot in a match, Marigrace Holt (12) watches
So much for waiting until next year, James Clemens volleyball team is making a statement in their first year of existence. Tuesday afternoon, the Jets blasted Austin 3 games to 1 to claim the Area 16 regular season title and now will host the area tournament on October 18.
Coach Amanda Smith was not happy with losing the one game; turns out it was the only game the Jets lost in all their area matches, finishing 6-0. Austin and Florence finished second and third. Decatur finished fourth and has the unenviable task of facing the Jets in the first match at the area tournament.
“Haley Hop is the leader in kills and Simone Clopton is the number one in blocking,” said Smith who played collegiately at UAH. “Everybody underestimates our team because we are so tiny.”
But the Jets play much taller than their heights. Sophomore Haley Hop is among the tallest girls at 5-foot-8 but there are a number of girls at that height and they all are travel ball veterans. The expanded roster now has 2 freshmen, 8 sophomores, 4 juniors and 1 senior.
Bringing the players together to form a cohesive team and meshing skills with new teammates has been the biggest challenge for Smith, a 2007 graduate of UAH who has coached club volleyball for several years.
Smith has brought the college volleyball mentality to the team and it shows in everything from net play to serving. Her style is part drill sergeant and part den mother.
“They work really hard and we’ve done well,” Smith said. “I am proud as I can be of them. I took them up to Tennessee for an extremely tough tournament. This week we are tinkering with our lineup to see if we can adjust some things. I’ve got so many good players I have to find the right combinations.”
James Clemens will play their only scheduled match against their cross-town rival Bob Jones on Tuesday, October 9 at 4 p.m. at Bob Jones’ gym.
“I have not seen Bob Jones play this year so it will be the first time I have seen them,” Smith said.
Sophomore Haley Hop in particular is looking forward to seeing many of her former teammates.
Hop transferred from Bob Jones where she played on a team that went all the way to the state championship game last year. So far this season she has been “really surprised at the success we’ve had here at James Clemens. It is really hard to come and form a brand new school. And to start off so strong and click from the beginning is really impressive.”
“I really enjoy playing here because I feel everyone cares about each other,” Hop said. “We’ve come together good for a first year school and I’ve enjoyed bonding as a team. It has been nice that no one felt they were not part of it because they weren’t on it last year. Everyone was new so we were really comfortable from the start.”
Hop is the only player on James Clemens who has ever played for Bob Jones.
“I am very much looking forward to going back there and seeing everyone that I played with last year. I’m not bitter at all towards them. I’m really excited to see everyone. I want to show them what we have been able to do here at James Clemens.”
What they have been able to do is amass a 24-11 record but the Jets are lacking respect as they have yet to break into the ASWA top ten rankings, despite having a better record than several ranked teams.
After the match at Bob Jones, James Clemens can focus on the area tournament. Bob Jones will finish the regular season with a match at Madison Academy on Thursday, October 11. Their area tournament will be hosted by Buckhorn also on October 18.
Two teams will advance out of area tournaments to the Super Regionals which will be held Oct. 26-27.
