New faces to step up for Wildcats

8/23/2012 12:11:00 AM New faces to step up for Wildcats Ninety Six volleyball team moves up to Class AA this season

By BEN BREINER NINETY SIX - Great players come and go at Ninety Six High School, but losing them does not seem to trouble Wildcats coach Beth Miller. She preaches what she calls The Wildcat Way, and with the team losing a strong group of seniors, including two-time Lakelands Player of the Year Jenny Bailey, and moving up to Class AA, Miller made it known the goals and expectations haven't changed a bit. "We've had other great volleyball players here in this school district, and somebody's always stepped up and took the challenge and done what they're supposed to do," Miller said. This season, the burden of stepping up will likely fall heavily on Anna-Grace Bryant and Quasha Williams, juniors who played important roles on a 2011 team which won the program's 11th consecutive region title. The team loses Bailey, Chandler Hepler and setter Dee Thompson, but brings back a large junior-laden roster. Although Miller said new faces will step up as usual, the process is not always so easy for the players. "I guess it's hard trying to be like Jenny Bailey because she's kind of hard to, like, compare to because she was a really good leader," Bryant said. "It's just hard trying to be like her. Especially when you're trying to ... work together and just step up as a team." Williams took a more forward-thinking outlook and added, "We got replacements for our old people. Just go out here and play." The team returns only two seniors - Megan Pruitt and Kaylee Deason - and Miller said it was a larger group than she was used to. The coach also mentioned Garielle Mingo, who is still getting a feel for the game, and 5-foot-11 Florida transfer Shyann Lister as players who could become key cogs this season. SEE MORE IN THURSDAY'S INDEX-JOURNAL. www.indexjournal.com