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Game Notes: SSAC challenges lie ahead for Lady Hawks
By Jim O'Hara
Lady Hawks (12-4, 2-2 SSAC) at Emmanuel (13-3, 0-2 SSAC)
Saturday, Sept. 24 • 2 pm • Franklin Springs, Ga.
ROME – Jon Moseley is certain parity is well entrenched among the teams that make up the Southern States Athletic Conference.
That's why the Shorter University head volleyball coach knows that his Lady Hawks have to be at the top of their game day in and day out when they face SSAC foes, especially over the next week.
Coming off a 3-1 conference road loss Thursday night at the hands unbeaten Southern Wesleyan, Shorter (12-4, 2-2) has its work cut out in the days ahead as the Lady Hawks face a grueling five-game SSAC stretch that begins Saturday with a trip to Emmanuel, includes another huge road test next Thursday at conference power and No. 6-ranked Lee and ends next Friday with a pair of matches in Cleveland, Tenn., against Belhaven and Faulkner.
"This is the strongest schedule we've played and it will continue to get stronger the rest of the season," said Moseley. "There have never been this many good teams in our conference. Lee is still a very good team, but from the No. 2 team on down, the conference is much stronger.
"There are more teams that have a chance to play in the conference championship."
The Lady Hawks have shown they have the talent to play for a league title after reeling off seven straight wins to open the season. Plus, Shorter is getting support from the entire roster.
Heading into Saturday's game at Emmanuel, redshirt freshman Jasmine Crook leads the team with 183 kills, junior Jordan Corder tops the Lady Hawks with 559 assists, senior Meghan Weller has been at the top of her game with a team-leading 29 aces, junior Leslie Welch is holding her ground at the net with 54 blocks and junior Tanequa Whitman has come up with 212 digs.
Yet all will have to step up their play over the next week, one in which Shorter hopes to see the return of junior outside hitter and two-time All-SSAC performer Loren Olive, who missed the Lady Hawks' win over Berry this past week and Thursday's setback to Southern Wesleyan.
"I guess we should expect a growing process," Moseley said of his young roster that includes just two seniors. "We have to continue growing and eliminate the errors, and to do that it's important to have communication and leadership."
Moseley said that the two seniors, Weller and Jessica Cooper, have filled their roles to the fullest.
"Both are great leaders," the coach said, "but everybody has to find their place on the team."
"Communication [on the court] is what we want," Shorter assistant coach Noel Carper pointed out, "and a lot of that has to do with some of their personalities – they're just quiet individuals. But they're getting better and speaking up."
Carper found that out first-hand when his father, longtime Berry professor Dr. N. Gordon Carper, passed away earlier this month. With him during his time of grief were the Lady Hawks and the coaching staff who have kept Carper and his family in their thoughts and prayers.
"If you have people you enjoy being around every day and enjoy what you do, it helps make things a lot easier," said Carper. "My dad was a great communicator. He always looked to find the good in people. Having [Moseley and assistant coach Adam Careaga] and the girls there – that's the kind of team we have."
"It's a team full of good people," Moseley said. "They all work hard, with respect for each other and treat each other as friends. We have a great group of girls who are of high character and easy to coach."
That, the coach feels, will help Shorter make a run towards the top of the SSAC and a berth in the conference championship match, something that would give the Lady Hawks a shot at earning a national playoff bid that he feels could include for the first-time ever an at-large spot for the conference.
"We have the situation this year where we'll have a chance to get one," Moseley said, referring again to the overall strength of the SSAC and the Top 25 rankings attained by Lee and Spring Hill. "But we can't worry about rankings. We need to focus on the matches we have ahead of us."
