Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 5, 1991 TAG: 9104050030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Her basketball gets more attention in the media, but as good as Warr's play was at point guard last fall for Salem, her ability and effort in volleyball during the winter was better.
Warr is Timesland's volleyball player of the year as selected by the Roanoke Times & World-News staff. She joins the coach of the year, Mike Wilburn of Giles, in taking top honors.
Warr beat out Jefferson Forest senior Errin Schleicher and Gretna junior Stacy Meadows for player-of-the-year honors. Warr is joined by Lexington's Susan Brown as the only repeaters from last year's squad.
The first team is rounded out by Patrick Henry's Rebecca Dearing, the Roanoke Valley District player of the year; Heather Graybeal of Cave Spring, which won the Group AAA Northwestern region title; and April Wilson, one of three Giles players on the first two teams.
Warr wears No. 13 in volleyball and says she would wear it in basketball if it was available. She has no superstitions.
"It's my favorite number and it never brings me bad luck," said Warr. "I really felt I had a pretty good year this season, a little better than last year."
Warr wasn't a flashy star, much like Meadows. She played setter on the back row and outside hitter on the front row and led the Spartans to the state semifinals, where they lost their first match of the year 15-8, 15-9 to eventual champion John Battle.
"The reason Shaunice didn't stand out on our team was that we have some other good hitters," said Salem coach David Turk. "When other teams would cover her, we'd back set to other hitters."
Warr's has her sights on Utah, where she spent spring vacation trying out for a couple of junior colleges and talking with Southern Utah coaches about playing basketball and/or volleyball. She says both sports rank equally as her favorites.
Meadows led Gretna into the Region III tournament, where the Hawks lost to Schleicher's Jefferson Forest team, 15-7, 11-15, 11-15.
"Tunstall and Bassett have had some players who have made All-Timesland. On a scale of one to 10 [with 10 being the highest], they were sevens. Stacy is an 8 1/2 or nine," said veteran coach Thomas Houser of Bassett.
Meadows is the first Gretna athlete to make All-Timesland in any sport; the Hawks, by joining the Piedmont District, became a Timesland team this year.
Schleicher, at 5-7, is a bit short for major-college volleyball. She's another in a long line of good players to come out of Jefferson Forest.
"She's a super all-around player who is strong in every aspect of the game," said Cavaliers coach Phyllis Buckner.
Wilburn coached town teams before taking the Giles job four years ago. His father was a teacher at the school, and the Spartans needed a coach after having four different ones in the previous four years.
Giles' records under Wilburn improved each year, going from a 3-5 mark the first season to 9-7, 9-5 and 16-1 this year when state champion Page County eliminated the Spartans 15-17, 15-10, 15-11 in the first round of the Group A tournament.
Wilburn, who is married and has a 3-year-old son, manages the Pearisburg Pizza Hut and juggles pizza making with practice schedules and games during the fall.
Wilburn beat out Cave Spring's Melissa Campbell and Turk, last year's winner, for coach-of-the-year honors.
by CNB