Volleyball Preview: Clarkton looks to rely on strong team chemistry, develop youth

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
Pictured is the Clarkton high school volleyball program. Pictured front row from the left: Magaly Arjona, Raegan Riley, Isabel Recarey Benito, Janie Lemus, Harley Russell, Jada Sherrod, Janae Sharrod, Tyesha Love, Alexandra Lemus and April Tice; pictured back row from the left: Emily Shipley, Trista Rudkin, Keylee Gromer, Ashlynn Plunkett, Kayla Gentry, MaKenna Barnett, Zoe le Haigat, Beth Ann Loughary, Taylor Earnheart and Madison McVaney.

The Clarkton Reindeer high school volleyball program has an abundance of youth entering the 2017 season.

Over half of the 20 players on the Clarkton roster are freshmen.

“We are really young,” Clarkton longtime coach Amy Cowart said. “We have two seniors and two juniors with experience and our other two upperclassmen are from the foreign exchange program so they are also new to the program.”

Clarkton has two returning varsity starters - Kayla Gentry and Alexandra Lemus.

“Kayla was a setter for us last season on varsity but has transitioned to a middle hitter in the offseason,” Cowart said. “She’s grown a little bit and has good control with her hits in the middle.”

“Alex plays defense and will resume that role this year,” Cowart added. “She reads the ball well and passes to the setter almost every time, so she will stay in that role.”

Multiple underclassmen will have to play varsity full time because of the low number of upperclassmen.

“I’ve already permanently moved up three freshmen and one sophomore,” Cowart said. “You are allowed four sets a night so some of the other underclassmen will probably see varsity time if their junior varsity match only goes two sets.”

Despite the youth, Cowart thinks her squad has several things going for it entering the season.

“We have a positive energy that flows through our team,” Cowart said. “We call it a family. This is my 19th year coaching and every once in a while you will have a few difficult kids. But this year I have great girls. They all make the grade and stay out of trouble. They are just a really good group of kids. They work hard and are there for each other.”

Clarkton has already proven it can compete with teams in the Missouri Bootheel based on its performance in a summer league.

“We competed in the Bootheel summer league,” Cowart said. “There were about 13 schools down here in the Bootheel that competed. We played pretty well and hung with just about everyone we played with. Sometimes we split with teams, but even with our youth we never got blown out by many teams.”

Cowart also likes the fact her 11 freshmen have garnered a wealth of volleyball experience before high school.

“The freshmen have been competing in the offseason in club volleyball, so they have some experience, just not at the varsity level,” Cowart said. “But they have played competitively since sixth grade.”

One obstacle Clarkton has encountered from the get-go this fall is its high school gymnasium is being renovated. As a result, Clarkton’s first five home games will be played on the road. The Reindeer are projected to play their first home game Sept. 21 against Southland.

“We will be back in our gym in about four weeks,” Cowart said. “Right now we are practicing at a private gym 20 minutes out of town. Our first five home games have been moved to away games. But when we get back in there the lobby will be new and there will be a new floor design so it should be a great morale boost for our girls.”

Clarkton opens its season Monday at Senath-Hornersville.

“We played Senath in the summer and beat them,” Cowart said. “I don’t know if they had all of their players because of softball. I don’t know if we saw their whole team but we had our entire team. But I’m sure we are pretty evenly matched and it could go either way.”

The Reindeer are slated to compete in Class 1, District 1 with host Southland, Cooter, Delta C-7, Gideon, Holcomb and North Pemiscot. Gideon beat North Pemiscot in the Class 1, District 1 final last season. Cowart expects Gideon and North Pemiscot will once again be top contenders her squad will have to get past if they want to make noise in the Tri-County Conference or Class 1, District 1 this season.

“I think Gideon and North Pemiscot will be two powerhouses at the varsity level,” Cowart said. “They’ve got juniors and seniors on their squads with experience. I look for those teams to be two of our toughest challengers.”

See Clarkton’s schedule below:

Clarkton Reindeer Volleyball Schedule