Talented youth to spark Stanhope Elmore volleyball in 2022

By DALTON MIDDLETON Sports Editor

The Stanhope Elmore volleyball team lost eight seniors from last year’s squad, but second-year head coach Flavia Freeney believes her Lady Mustangs can be even better this year.

Stanhope Elmore, which has another six seniors on the roster this year, has high expectations for the 2022 season. They return two of their best players in Shakeria Washington and Zyon Holmes, and a plethora of talented players join the squad.

Most of the 2022 roster will be filled out from last season’s junior varsity team. And while there might not be much varsity experience, there’s plenty of talent.

Stanhope Elmore’s junior varsity team only lost one match all of last season, and now those players are joining the varsity.

“The eight girls we lost last year were very talented and it’s always hard to replace eight girls, but we have six seniors again this year,” Freeney said. “The girls that we have moved up are all so talented and they only lost one game last year. They were strong. They’ve been playing club and travel volleyball and we’ve been to camps and hosted camps here. I think we’re stronger.”

Another difference from last year’s team will be the amount of front hitters that the Lady Mustangs have on the roster.

Freeney is high on her two hitters up front, Emily Wilson and Emily White, her “M&M” as she calls them. Them, along with Washington, will be the three main threats at the net this year.

Samantha Wilson will be another new name across the front, but she will primarily be a setter. She’s very versatile and looks to make a big impact on the court this year.

“Both Emily Wilson and Emily White are very smart players and they’re very ball-conscious and court-conscious. They will make a lot of plays up front and just having Shakeria and her demeanor in the middle is a game-changer. She always knows what to do and what she should’ve done if she makes a mistake.”

While the offense features some new names, the defense will be some of the same as the last few seasons. Washington is the team’s main blocker, as she led the team with 30 blocks last year.

In the rare occurrence that the ball does get past Washington’s hand, Holmes is patrolling the back line to save points.

Holmes led the team with 261 digs last season, more than double what anyone else on the team had. She was one of the area’s two other starting hitters on the team, and she believes she’s better at hitting than she is at setting, especially since she’s an everypoint player.

Coach Smith disagrees, and thinks she’s best as a passer and as a server. Last year, she completed 318 of her 354 serve attempts. No matter where she plays on the court, however, she excels.

And she believes she has gotten even better this season.

“I’ve definitely gotten better, not only from last year but especially since I was a freshman,” Boshell said. “I’ve improved at every position and improved with team chemistry. Now it’s about continuing to work hard and I feel really good about the upcoming season.”

When it comes to chemistry, Boshell will have an interesting dynamic to work with this season. As the team’s main setter, she will

Boshell herself had 178 kills, while Milton had 131 kills. Junior Star Angier also returns to parade the front net and lead a dynamic group of spikers.

“It certainly helps having everyone in the front back,” Smith said. “All of our starting hitters are the same and Julie is still our starting setter. In spit of the fact that we have four freshmen on varsity, we’re doing pretty well up there.”

Another freshman will start on defense for the Lady Indians. Ashlynn Turner will be the team’s starting libero to begin the year. And while she is young, she got some playing time towards the end of the year last season.

Turner was forced into the rotation last year after senior libero Erin Douglass was forced to miss time. In her place, Turner played in multiple area matches and big time games. She was able to help beat Stanhope and lead Wetumpka to the area championship.

And now being a year older with more experience, Smith is confident in her ability to play defense. control the majority of the team’s passes. But she isn’t the only setter on the team.

And she isn’t the only Boshell on the team.

Julie’s sister, Cheyenne, will start alongside her as the team’s other setter. Cheyenne is a freshman and will look to learn as much as she can from Julie during her senior campaign.

The two sisters were worried early on about the dynamic of both of them playing on the court together and at the same time, but

“It definitely helps that Ashlynn was around last year,” Smith said. “She was able to play in area games and finished out the season. I think her being here as the starting libero all summer has really cemented her place back there and earned her trust with her teammates.” ball out or chase one down, she does and she gives it her all. When you talk about a kid who give’s it 150% on the court, it’s Zyon.” they’ve learned it’s actually an advantage.

Wetumpka will lose an area opponent this year as Benjamin Russell leaves the area. Instead, the Lady Indians welcome in Sidney Lanier and Montgomery Carver, two teams out of Montgomery.

Both teams are talented, and Smith knows that. She doesn’t underestimate any opponent on the schedule, and she knows rival Stanhope Elmore, Carver, or Lanier can come in and win in on any given day.

With most of the opposing area teams being full of seniors and juniors, Smith is hoping her freshmen and young players can become mentally tough enough to hang in there and show their talents.

Wetumpka opens the season on Thursday, Aug. 18 on the road at Montgomery Academy.

“It’s definitely not a bad thing,” Boshell said. “It’s an advantage being able to go home and work together and set together and just talk about what we can improve on. Then we can come to practice and work with our hitters. It’s a huge advantage.”

Her sister isn’t the only player that will be looking towards Boshell for leadership. Being her senior season and being one of the most experienced players, Boshell

Washington tallied a team-high 30 blocks and eight dinks last year as she was named to the All-County team. If there was a ball being hit to the Stanhope Elmore side of the court, Washington was there at the front of the net trying to get in the way of it.

“When I’m on the court, there’s no room for fear,” Washington said. “Either way, you’re going to win or lose. It’s a game. Therefore, if you focus on doing your best and giving 100% effort out there, you don’t have time to focus on fear or failure. You just have to give it all you have.” has taken on a leadership role entering the year.

Washington started playing volleyball in the eighth grade, and she’s given the sport all she can since she started playing.

She played strictly on junior varsity during her ninth grade season, then started her sophomore year on the junior varsity as well. A few weeks in, she was promoted to the varsity squad and hasn’t looked back.

Smith says she’s one of the best players to push her teammates to be better around her, and that comes from the longevity of playing time she’s had with the team.

“It’s about holding the team together,” Boshell said of how her role has changed. “You have to keep everyone moving straight and pick everyone up when they get down. This preseason is very much about leadership and just putting in the work and hustling.” there. And you can tell she’s not scared of anything. When a ball is coming, it doesn’t matter who is hitting it. She’s going to stay up there and she’s going to get a hand on it.” best defensive players, and she looks to lead the team from that position again in her senior season.

When she does mess up or miss a block, Freeney says that Washington is one of the best on the team at correcting herself and learning on the fly. She can quickly assess where and how she messed up, and the team sees that every time she’s on the court.

That’s why Washington, entering her senior campaign, is one of the team’s leaders. She is just one in a handful of seniors, but she has worked hard at her craft and assured herself to be one of the leaders.

She’s taken the same role in softball, and she knows her teammates like the back of her hand. She knows how to talk and how to coach each one to get the most out of them, and now the team looks to her when times get rough.

She takes her vocal leadership role seriously, but it doesn’t take away that she leads by example every time she steps on the court. She knows she has to be the one to give 100% effort on every play to see her teammates succeed as well.

“Zyon is phenomenal,” Freeney said. “She is amazing to watch because she doesn’t even look like she has to put any effort into making the best lifts or passes but then all of a sudden, when she has to dig a

Stanhope Elmore has a new area this season. The Lady Mustangs made the playoffs last year as the No. 2 seed behind Wetumpka, but now Stanhope Elmore and Wetumpka welcome two new opponents.

Benjamin Russell has left the area, while Sidney Lanier and Carver have joined.

Stanhope Elmore opens the season on August 25 against Elmore County.

That’s due to the effort she gives on the court, and her talent on the defensive side of the net. She’s spent the last few years just listening to her older teammates and coaches, and trying to get better at the entire game.

Now she feels she is best at defense, and that’s mostly because of she is not intimidated by anything.

“She’s never intimidated,” head coach Flavia Freeney said. “Being an assistant softball coach, I see her in two sports and she catches over

“There are so many different aspects to a team and you have to learn each individual person to be able to push them on the court,” Washington said. “I think that’s a role that I’m getting better at and it will help the team. Volleyball can get really hectic if you don’t know your team that well, so being a team player has helped me enjoy the game and get better. If you love and know the girls around you and love the game, you’re going to perform better.”

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