St. Anne’s volleyball finds the right combination

St. Anne’s-Belfield’s volleyball team has seven seniors on the squad, so expectations were high coming into this season because of the Saints’ veteran leadership. But then the Saints stumbled a little out of the gate, struggling with a tough schedule.

That’s part of the past now.

“It kind of all of a sudden happened,” said STAB coach Stacey Gearhart. “Everyone started communicating the way they needed to and things are starting to click. They’re working really well together.”

St. Anne’s has roared to a 6-0 record in LIS play to bring its overall mark to 11-4, setting up a battle with local rival Covenant Thursday afternoon on the road in a game that could determine the LIS regular-season title.

Gearhart moved some pieces around on the squad, shifting senior Ladi Smith, one of the team’s best outside hitters, back to setter. That move has helped the Saints execute their 6-2 attack extremely well, as Smith sets the table for senior middle blockers Olivia Kantwill and Shelby Linthicum. Kantwill and Linthicum combined for 16 kills against Highland as STAB cruised in a 3-0 sweep last Friday.

Smith’s move has been a big part of the Saints’ success.

“The funny thing is she is an amazing outside and I’ve had to say, ‘Ladi, I need you to set,’” Gearhart said. “I’ve had to take her out of her main position and she just said ‘OK, Coach.’”

Linthicum has come up big for the Saints too, giving STAB an aggressive force at the net that the Saints will need to avenge an early season loss to Covenant that didn’t count in LIS play.

“We’re a different team now,” Gearhart said. “I think a lot of it is maturity.”

The Saints’ flexibility doesn’t hurt, either.

MHS girls hoops starts over under Mountjoy

The Mike Mountjoy era has begun in earnest at Monticello High, and the girls basketball program appears to be headed in the right direction.

Like most programs in the area, the Mustangs are holding voluntary workout sessions throughout the offseason, as well as open gyms, and two leaders have already emerged for Monticello. Juniors Lisa Marshall and Eryn Rothenberg have bought into Mountjoy’s program wholeheartedly.

“They both are very dedicated, very selfless,” said Mountjoy, a longtime high school basketball coach in North Carolina who also coaches the girls tennis team at Monticello. “They’ve essentially been there every time the doors are open — they’ve embraced the idea of building the program. Both are going to be contributors on the court, but they’re just as outstanding off the court, they’ve really embraced the leadership role.”

The Mustangs have taken on a stringent workout program in an effort to improve upon last season’s frustrating campaign that ended with just three wins in the 2007-2008 winter season. There are running, lifting and gym components to Mountjoy’s conditioning program. So far, the numbers have been solid, too — particularly considering the large number of multi-sport athletes at the school.

“We’ve averaged between 12 and 15 people — it’s not always the same 12-15, but that excludes fall athletes,” Mountjoy said. “We’re blessed with some fairly athletic kids. We’re not very big, but we have some really good athletes that fit the mold of those multi-sport athletes.”

Mountjoy seems to be clearly committed to being a program-builder versus searching for a quick-fix to what has plagued the Mustangs in the area’s hyper-competitive girls basketball world.

“One of the things we’ve tried to impart to our student athletes is that basketball doesn’t have to be your number one priority, but it needs to be a priority,” Mountjoy said. “I think that coming off a 3-18 season, we have to be realistic about where we’re going to be. The wins and losses will take care of themselves if we get the process right.”

That’ll involve each player developing a role or mentality, because Mountjoy is committed to playing his entire bench during games to increase court time and build seasoned players. As an example, Tia Shelton, a returning senior, has dedicated herself to becoming a top-flight rebounder.

“She’s getting her hands on everything now,” Mountjoy said. “Developing roles is one of the things we’re stressing.”

A few young players, including freshman Hannah Shepard, a scorer, Taylor Paige, an athletic sophomore, and developing inside players Libby Firer and Maggie Echols have Mountjoy upbeat about the program’s future. But right now he’s concerned about making sure that process is right.

CVa running products strut their stuff

Virginia Tech senior Tasmin Fanning, a Western Albemarle graduate, helped the Hokies’ cross country team to a fourth-place finish this past Saturday at their biggest meet of the season — the Chile Pepper Invitational at the University of Arkansas.

Fanning finished second overall with a time of 19:42 in the 6,000-meter race, only 16 seconds behind the defending NCAA cross country champion, Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech. Fanning’s sister, Jessica, was 15th.

Virginia Tech will now prepare for the ACC Championships, which will be held Nov. 1 in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Jeremy Haney, a graduate of Fork Union Military Academy and a freshman on the cross country team at the U.S. Naval Academy, finished 16th overall in the Army/Navy meet this past weekend. Haney, running in just his second race of the season, completed the five-mile course in a time of 25:35.

Army slipped past Navy for the 27-28 win to take the meet for the third time in the past 12 years.

The Midshipmen head to the Lehigh Cross Country Course in Bethlehem, Pa., for the Patriot League Championship on Nov. 1.

Haney, of Fluvanna County, helped Fork Union win the state cross country title his junior and senior year and was a two-time state champion in the 1,600-meter run for the Blue Devils.

VHSL schedules division playoff presentation

Virginia High School League staff will present a new Division Playoff format for all sports during its fall membership meeting next Tuesday.

The new Division Playoff format will have five Divisions, and if approved, could go into effect in the next redistricting and reclassification cycle beginning in 2011-12. The new format attempts to address the chief issues of disparity in school enrollments, geographic location, expanding playoff opportunities, scheduling and team travel that occurs in the current Group A, AA and AAA classifications.

The proposed five-division playoff format will align schools with similar enrollments, preserve geographic proximity, give schools greater flexibility in scheduling and increased opportunities to enter the postseason.

MHS baseball holds pitcher/catcher camp

Monticello High School will hold a baseball pitcher/catcher camp on Nov. 1 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the MHS gym. The camp is open to any 8th through 12th graders. Cost for the camp is $40. For more information, call 293-2950.