Young Has The Pride On Track For A Title Run
After coming off both a regular season and district tournament championship last year, the Heritage Pride volleyball team once again has high expectations coming into 2006. However, one big change from last year to this year will be the absence of Kelly Haller, Heather McConnell, and Kaitlin Petrella, who all graduated. These three helped the Pride team win its first district title in volleyball and advance all the way to the regional semi-finals before losing to the eventual Region II champ and State semi-finalist Waynesboro High School. This year Heritage will look for returning senior starter Rachel Young to fill some of the void left by the three graduates.
Young will be one of the key emotional leaders along with a great physical leader this year for the Pride. Coach Carmel Keilty calls Young an extremely coachable, hard-working, and intelligent player, which shows in her outstanding performance on the court. These characteristics also transfer over to the classroom where Young has maintained an outstanding 4.0 GPA through her junior year.
Last year, Young started on the varsity team for a third consecutive year and will continue for a fourth and final year as a senior. With that experience, Young understood her responsibility this year by stating "Now that I am a senior, I am working hard to bring the leadership and consistency to the team that it needs to be successful on the court." Many of the other team members look up to Young for assistance, and they all respect her for the amount of leadership that she shows.
Not only was Young a standout volleyball player, but she also played on the varsity basketball team at Heritage. However, during her junior year, Young decided to focus 100 percent on volleyball. The main reason for this was because she saw the opportunity to play in college. Although Young has not stated a certain school she would like to attend, she is still extremely thrilled about the opportunity of playing at the collegiate level. "I plan to play in college after high school and take my volleyball talents to a new level. I would be excited to further my volleyball skills and to have another great team experience," said Young.
With the stats that Young put up last year, don't be surprised if you hear the name Rachel Young receiving a scholarship from a prominent university. Last year, Young's stats were near the top of the team and district last year in many categories. In her junior campaign, Young compiled 30 service aces (a serve that results directly in a point), 212 kills (an attack that results directly in a point or side out), 146 digs (act of retrieving an attacked ball close to the floor and making a successful pass), 136 points, 21 solo blocks (a successful attempt by any one front row player to intercept the ball near the net that results in the termination of the rally), and an astounding 96 percent serve receive percentage. Young has continued that amazing trend this year compiling 23 kills in a two game stint and an impressive 15 points in one match against Dominion on September 5, which comes out to an amazing 20 percent of her teams' points. Young currently stands second in the district for most kills in a game with 14 against Broad Run on September 7.
Heritage also has many other quality players, such as seniors Alana Rudkovsky and Katherine Buttery. When asked about who would be the standout player this season, Coach Keilty stated, "There is not one player in particular. All of the players are working hard to be the best they can be."
As for the outlook for the 2006 season in comparison to the 2005 season, both Coach Keilty and Young had a similar statement. "You cannot compare one team to another. Every year the players bring different characteristics. We will take it one match at a time," said Keilty. Young stated, "It is hard to compare, but I am confident that this year's team has the potential to go far in the post-season. We have some new players that will help with our success."
Heritage is hoping that Young can bring even more influence and leadership to the court this year. With Young guiding the Pride with her outstanding play, Heritage could go even farther than their regional semi-final appearance last year.
