Lady Spartan Freshmen Volleyball
Coach Erin Fuller-Freshman A
Coach Tim Casey-Freshman White
Click HERE for 2011 Volleyball Master Schedule
Stratford Lady Spartans
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| 3 | Ashley Courtney |
| 5 | Kat Stuart |
| 6 | Annie McMahon |
| 7 | Sarah Borski |
| 9 | Janie Bowers |
| 10 | Cassie McKee |
| 11 | Laura Petruzzi |
| 12 | Tori Pfeifer |
| 13 | Frances Decker |
| 16 | Hanna Lauritzen |
| 17 | Peyton Bertram |
| 20 | Theresa Nguyen |
| Coach | Tim Casey |
Stratford Lady Spartans
|
| 1 | Grace Whitmire |
| 3 | Ashley Brown |
| 4 | Jenny Hall |
| 6 | Dakota Ransom |
| 7 | Morgan Brast |
| 8 | Erin Hanshaw |
| 11 | Emily Hunter |
| 12 | Autumn Crawford |
| 14 | Hannah Laster |
| 21 | Jamison Duck |
| Coach | Erin Fuller |
October 9, 2011
Freshman A Update
Record 20-8
The team began the week with an easy victory over Waller on Tuesday. The match consisted of two games in which the Spartans won easily. The first game began a little rough as libero Dakota Ransom was absent due to illness. This disrupted the teams rotation initially but Hannah Laster stepped in to play libero and the team was soon off and running. The team soon completed a season sweep of Waller.
On Friday the team faced the Magnolia Bulldogs at home. This team represented the only blemish on our district record as we had lost to them earlier at their gym. The first time we played them they had seven players and this time they only had six. The first game began as expected in a see saw scoring affair. Once again Dakota Ransom was missing and this time Emily Hunter answered the call and played very well as libero. The score went back and forth up until the end when we eventually lost 24-26. Jamison Duck had some excellent kills and the team as a whole played well but in the end one or two unforced errors made the difference. The second game was probably the most exciting of the season. Magnolia started off very strong and jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. However, our girls fought back and tied the game up at 14-14. At this time Jamison Duck unfortunately went down with an injury as she dove for a ball and was not able to come back into the game. With our leading hitter out it did not look good but this is when our team really rallied and made some phenomenal saves. Erin Hanshaw and Grace Whitmire were extremely active diving for balls and Hannah Laster took over as our offensive weapon. Morgan Brast made a great winner toward the end and Jenny Hall and Ashley Brown helped on the defensive side as they both blocked shots down the stretch. Autumn Crawford served beautifully and had some great shots from the middle position. Unfortunately at the end the team lost 23-25 and went down for the second time this year to a very talented Magnolia team.
Next up is Brenham away and Spring Woods at home.
September 30, 2011
Freshman A Update
Record 19-7
The freshman “A” team continues to improve as the season continues. Their current record is 19-7 but it could be much better considering some vey close losses. The team performed well in district play by defeating Montgomery, Spring Woods, Magnolia West, Northbrook, and Waller. The only district loss has come at the hands of a very determined Magnolia team that was very skilled despite only having 7 players. In tournament play the team has had mixed results. They had an excellent tournament at Clear Creek by dominating in pool play and getting to the semi finals in bracket play only to be beaten by Memorial again. The Fort Bend tournament started on a bad note as the team lost their first game in a hard fought contest with Dulles. With that loss the Spartans were thrown over into the consolation side of the bracket which they went on to win handily.
This brings us to this weekends SBISD tournament hosted at Stratford where the team ended up placing third out of 16 teams. The offensive fire power continued to come primarily from Jamison Duck and Hannah Laster. Their serving game proved to be too much for most of the competition and Jamison especially stood out as a formidable hitter from all positions on the court and Hannah has luckily recovered from a bad ankle sprain to return to her former self. Ashley Brown and newcomer Emily Hunter added additional strength from the right side in balancing the offense. Jenny Hall and Morgan Brast made some really heady plays in timely situations that proved to be the difference in a couple of games. Autumn Crawford and Dakota Ransom played their positions extremely well and their service games have improved dramatically. Autumn is now mixing touch along with power on her serves for a great combination. She also demonstrates the best “ups” on the team with her middle hits. Dakota’s reckless abandon as libero has saved many a point this season and she is taking command from the back row in terms of communication. Erin Hanshaw made some very athletic saves throughout the tournament and she continues to vary her set distribute to keep the other teams guessing.
In the tournament semi finals the team unfortunately lost a real heartbreaker to Clear Lake 25-23. 28-30, and 8-15. This match could have gone either way but although they lost the team displayed real mental toughness. Per Coach Fuller, the best game of the season for the team happened in the quarterfinal match on Thursday night against Cinco Ranch. Cinco is a very talented team and a team that has beaten Memorial this year. We were able to win a close first game but started out quite flat in the second game. This is where Grace Whitmire came in to serve and really got the team turned around. We were trailing badly when Grace served tremendously well and the momentum of the game changed entirely. Grace made some great plays in addition to serving well and combined with a great team effort the Spartan’s “A” freshman team had learned how to win a close one. Although we lost to Clear Lake in the following match we avenged a loss to Seven Lakes to take third place in the tournament.
Next up is Waller at home on Tuesday and a big match against Magnolia on Friday.
September 9, 2011
Freshman A vs. Waller
W 2-0 (5-3, 1-0)
The team visited Waller and were victorious in two games. With the recent problems in the surrounding area it seemed that the Waller team was not all there as our team won in two easy games.
September 7, 2011
Freshman A vs. Seven Lakes
L 2-1 (4-3, 0-0)
The freshman “A” team lost a true heartbreaker in a three game match against Seven Lakes. The first game was a see saw battle that was highlighted by a very strong performance by Jamison Duck. Jamison led the team in kills and was dominating on her serve. After trailing 22-24 the team came back strong to win 27-25 with the final point being a block by Jenny Hall. The second game was almost a complete reversal of the first game as we led 23-21 with us serving but eventually lost 24-26. Jamison continued her strong play along with Hannah Laster but the home crowd really got into the game and our team let it slip away. The third game was a let down from the first two as once again the crowd was able to fuel the Seven Lakes team and they finished the match beating us 25-16.
September 2, 2011
Freshman A vs. Kingwood Park
W 2-0 (4-2, 0-0)
It did not take the girls long to get back on track as they defeated Kingwood Park in two games, 25-20 and 25-10. The team got a good output from the right side with Ashley Brown as her hits continue to gain power. Autumn Crawford and Jenny Hall played well in the middle and produced some offensive punch. Dakota Ransom, who has played extremely well at libero all season, served 10 straight in the second game to finish the match.
August 30, 2011
Freshman A vs. Memorial
L 2-1 (3-2, 0-0)
This match turned out to be a real heartbreaker as the Spartans lost in three games: 22-25, 25-15, and 22-25. The team came out ready to avenge the previous loss by starting with a 9-1 lead with Erin Hanshaw serving. The team unfortunately lost momentum as Memorial caught up at 15 all and went on to win the first game. The second game began in the same manner with Stratford taking a 6-0 lead and never looked back. Grace Whitmire served 6 straight to close the second game out. In the third game, the Mustangs came out aggressively and took a commanding lead of 22-12. It looked as if the match was over, but the home crowd got the girls fired up and they came back strong. With some great serving from Hannah Laster and a balanced attack, the girls fought their way back from 12-22 to 22-24. Unfortunately, it was too little too late and they finally lost the last game, but the last 10 points of that game were the season’s best.
August 23, 2011
Freshman A vs. Katy
W 2-0 (3-1, 0-0)
Katy came to visit Stratford and our team responded with a commanding 25-17, 25-14 victory. All of the girls played great and they seemed well prepared for Katy. The majority of the offensive firepower came from Jamison Duck and Hannah Laster who each had 6 kills. Morgan Brast was next with 3 kills as she played her best game of the season.
August 16, 2011
Freshman A vs. Clear Creek
W 2-1 (2-1, 0-0)
The team bounced back well after the Memorial loss and defeated Clear Creek in three close games. This was the team’s first away game and they handled it well. The nervousness and unforced errors of the prior game were reduced dramatically and the chemistry of the team was steadily improving. The players seemed to begin working with the rotations smoothly.
August 12, 2011
Freshman A vs. Memorial
L 2-0 (1-1, 0-0)
The team received a wakeup call against Memorial and came out on the losing end in two games. The match was close in both games, but Memorial continually held the lead and the Spartans were never able to mount a true comeback. The good news was that there was some stellar play on our part and it was easy to see our team’s potential. Unfortunately, the game was marred by numerous unforced errors on our part and that was the main reason for the loss. It was the first time that our girls played against Stratford’s primary rival and the nerves were evident.
August 9, 2011
Freshman A vs. Pearland
W 2-0 (1-0, 0-0)
The season began on a positive note with a convincing victory over Pearland. The team won the match in two games and maintained the lead throughout both games.
