Fougerousse takes over Lady Miner volleyball

The Linton-Stockton High School volleyball team includes (front row, from left) managers Libbi Fougerousse and Emma Brewer. The second row (from left) includes Courtney Barnes and Ashley Cooper. The third row (from left) includes Jordan Padgett, Jannae Jackson, Sydney Lehman, Kaitlin Williams, Kelsy Foglesong and Kayla Cox. The fourth row (from left) includes Hali Murray, Savannah Mason, Bradlea Beard and Darien Huffman. The back row (from left) includes Samantha Butt, Kelsey Andis and Alex Daluga. (By B.J. Hargis/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

Former Shakamak High School volleyball coach Jill Fougerousse is now in charge of the Linton-Stockton Lady Miners.

She inherits a team that is defending champions in both the Tri-River Conference and Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference and was Class 2A Sectional runner-up a year ago. There were five losses to graduation from that 25-10 team.

"We have 15 girls and we are going to have an open roster," Fougerousse said of not naming specifically varsity and junior varsity rosters. "I have told them it could be different from week to week who gets varsity and who gets jv time.

"It will be more like a tryout. They will have to give 100 percent all the time to keep or earn a spot on the varsity."

Bradlea Beard, who shared the setting duties last year with Izzy Carpenter, will be the lone setter in a 5-1 offensive set in 2009.

"Bradlea is quarterback of the team, so to speak," said Fougerousse. "She is quick and has a lot of athletic ability.

"She suffered a knee in basketball during the summer. But she is recovering well."

Sophomore Sydney Lehman is another good athlete, according to Fougerousse.

"Sydney is a fun gal to coach. She always has a smile on her face," said Fougerousse, a 1991 graduate of White River Valley High School. "We are trying to speed up our offense with players like Sydney.

"She has been working on doing a lot of slides and one balls."

Darien Huffman is a junior that will probably start out the season on the jv, according to the coach.

"She is still learning the game," said Fougerousse. "She has a lot of power on her serve and is learning to control it."

Alex Daluga (outside hitter) and Kelsey Andis (back row) are both seniors.

"Alex is another quick little athlete," said Fougerousse. "She goes full force all the time. She is a vocal leader and always goes 100 percent.

"Kelsey will see time as a defensive specialist. She has been coming in and doing extra things, like working on her serve. She is working on a new serving technique. She is a good senior leader."

Senior Samantha Butt was walking around on crutches during the first week of practice. She will be playing as a middle hitter once she returns to the line-up.

"Sam has a foot injury," said Fougerousse. "Her status is up in the air for a couple of weeks.

"She is an all-round good player. She is quick and jumps well. She is another senior leader. She also has been working on a jump serve."

Freshman Courtney Barnes will help fill in for Butt, according to the coach.

"Courtney has really good athletic ability," said Fougerousse. "She will be an outside hitter down the road, but will play some in the middle while Sam is injured.

"She is still making the adjustment from junior high to high school on both sides of the net."

The other freshman on the Lady Miner roster is Ashley Cooper.

"Ashley is super smart and sees the floor really well," said Fougerousse. "She has good passing skills. Maybe we will use her as an outside hitter.

"She is right in tune with things. She will be vying for a spot."

Sophomore Jannae Jackson is in same boat as Cooper as far as dividing time between the jv and varsity, according to Fougerousse.

"Jannae has a great swing and hits the ball hard every time," she said. "Jannae will be playing at outside hitter.

"She has a good serve, but we need to work on getting her percentage up. She will be vying for time on the varsity."

Savannah Mason is a returning letterman.

"Savannah will be our Libero," Fougerousse said of the junior. "She is tenacious as defensive player.

"She will be in the back row a lot. She has improved her passing. She is not afraid to get on the floor and be really aggressive for us."

Sophomore Kayla Cox has impressed Fougerousse.

"Kayla has great hands as a setter," she said. "She will probably play some jv.

"She does a pretty good job as a right side hitter as well. I love the way she sets the ball."

Sophomore Kaitlyn Williams has really improved her passing skills, according to coach.

"I saw good improvement in her passing during that satellite camp featuring IU players," said Fougerousse. "I look for her to be more of a defensive specialist on the jv."

Kelsy Foglesong is a sophomore that Fougerousse expects to compete for time on the varsity.

"Kelsy will start out as an opposite hitter of the setter," said Fougerousse. "She is a great girl to coach. She takes things in and applies them.

"She will be a consistent player in passing and serving. I would like to see her get stronger with her hitting. She will probably play a lot of varsity for us."

Junior Hali Murray is a setter and a middle hitter, who will split time between the varsity and jv.

"Hali is a real hard worker," said Fougerousse, who spent three season at Shakamak, including two as the varsity coach. "She too is working on a jump serve.

"She will probably play setter on the jv in a 6-2 line-up with Kayla as the other setter."

The coach said that sophomore Jordan Padgett is returning after sitting out last season.

"At 5-8, Jordan is one of our tallest girls. She will start out on the jv as a middle hitter," said Fougerousse. "She has come to a lot of open gyms trying to catch up."

Fougerousse said they have kids that played last year, but not many that played club volleyball.

"Some teams will have a whole season in on us," said Fougerousse, who added she is happy to have Jacqi Ward and Susan Clark as her assistants. "Our girls are small, quick, good jumpers, but very athletic.

"They are smart and know the fundamentals of the game. It has been a really smooth transition. We are trying to speed things up on offense to utilize our skills. We will have to work on our passing. I am challenging them to make a perfect pass and not be satisfied with a good pass. Defense wins ball games, no matter the sport. We have good defensive skills, other than blocking. We have to be able to make digs and get the ball set up to run our offense."

She said she is looking forward to watching this team develop and grow.

"I am really excited about this group," said Fougerousse. "At the end of the season, we want to make a run in the state tournament, which is no different than any other high school in the state.

"I understand there are peaks and valleys and the girls are going to make mistakes. My No. 1 job is not only to teach them volleyball skills but life skills as well. I am going to enjoy watching this team."

Linton-Stockton

Volleyball Roster

No. Player Gr.

Coach: Jill Fougerousse (first season at L-S).

JV coach: Jacqi Ward.

Assistant coach: Susan Clark.

Managers: Libbi Fougerousse and Emma Brewer.