Spartans enter fall with young team, potential

The Mountain Brook High School volleyball team has an interesting flavor to it this fall.

The 12-player varsity roster consists of one freshman, one junior and one senior.

The rest are sophomores with little to no varsity experience.

“They’re learning to work together,” said coach Vickie Nichols, who takes over for Haven O’Quinn, who departed for Birmingham-Southern in the offseason. “That’s the key to it this year. It’s going to take all of us to get through the season.”

Senior Libby Grace Gann and junior Ellen Dulin will have to act as the elder statesmen for a Spartan team that is the three-time reigning Class 7A state champion, but has a new-look roster and new coach in Vickie Nichols.

“They’ve got to lead,” Nichols said. “They’re working well together and I think now we’ve got the working relationship that we need.”

They both lead the team differently, and Nichols said she is leaning on those unique traits to guide the team as a whole.

Of Gann, Nichols said, “Libby Grace, being the setter, she’s like the quarterback for the team. She’s going to have to be mentally tough and stay strong and step up and make things happen. She knows how to get it done. She’s been on three state championship teams.”

While Gann’s strength is honing in on the competitive side of things, Dulin focuses on boosting the morale.

“She’s a hard worker,” Nichols said. “She’s a person who’s very good at picking people up when they’re having a difficult time on the court. She doesn’t get down very much.”

Nichols is admittedly a relationship-oriented person, so she said a great deal of time was spent over the summer working not only on the technical aspects of the game, but also on developing cohesiveness amongst the team. She believes that will pay off in the long run, especially with such a young team.

“Togetherness is going to be huge and that’s why we’re working towards the things we need to do to keep us together,” Nichols said.

With Gann solidified at setter and Dulin taking a role in the middle, the rest of the lineup presents great opportunity for the rest of the girls. Grace Carr got a great deal of experience on the outside last fall as a freshman and will look to carry more of a load this year. 

Sarah Catherine Cooper, Mary Katherine Fowlkes and Lilly Gilbert will join Carr on the outside.

Ellie Dayhuff and Kate Amberson will help out in the middle with Dulin, while twins Ann and Liz Vandevelde will take care of defensive roles. Claire Chester is a right side and Hannon Taterek will help out the twins on defense.

Reiterating her point about needing all 12 members to help carry the team to the finish line this fall, Nichols will not be able to rely on just a handful of girls. Players will have to be prepared to find themselves in the rotation once they take the floor.

“I’m developing for the future as well as for right now,” Nichols said. “It’s going to be huge that they understand that their role is not to put a uniform on and sit on the bench. Your role is to contribute all the time.”

As far as the expectations that come with being a reigning state champion, three times over, Nichols thinks it’s “great,” and that every player in the program should take pride in last year’s title.

She said, “Whether they played last year or not, because they’re part of Mountain Brook volleyball, it trickles all the way down from ninth grade to the JV to the varsity. They’re champions.”

Even if the four-peat doesn’t come to fruition, Spartan volleyball should still be a force in the future.

“There’s greatness to come for many years,” Nichols said.