Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 6, 1994 TAG: 9410060005
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS KING SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Harrison, 24, inherits a Pulaski County High School girls' volleyball program that did not win a game last season, much less a match. She faces a major rebuilding task with team that went 0-7 competing in the Roanoke Valley District.
"My goal is for the girls to win a match, learn the game and play together as a team," said Harrison. "It may not happen this year, but we are getting there."
Despite her youth, Harrison brings a wealth of playing experience to the court. She started playing volleyball at Ballard Christian Academy, which did not offer her sport of choice, basketball. Being voted most valuable player on Ballard's 1988 state championship team was the culmination of her four-year high school career.
After high school, she played volleyball for Concord (W.Va.) College for three years. In her senior season she was named West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's female scholar athlete of the year. Harrison posted a 3.7 GPA at Concord.
Upon her graduation, Harrison accepted the job of choral director at Pulaski County High School. She was unaffiliated with the volleyball team her first year at the school, but that changed when the head coaching position became available.
"I kind of figured I would be approached," said Harrison. "I told them I would do it because coaching was something I had always wanted to do."
The transition from player to coach has provided Harrison with a cold dose of reality.
"I have to struggle with my own frustrations more than anything else," she said. "I came in with the idea that we could fix it quickly. We are fixing it and developing better players but it is going to take longer than I thought."
Harrison started at ground zero, concentrating on fundamentals while looking for small moral victories as much as the score. She points out that between the team's last scrimmage and first match of the season, a loss to Patrick Henry, the team's serving percentage nearly doubled, rising from 43 percent to 83 percent.
"I told them, 'Right now the score doesn't matter,'" said Harrison. "It's the learning experience, that every time we step off of the court we have learned something."
Despite the team's early season struggles this year - the Cougars have yet to win a game in the first two matches - their attitude remains positive.
"It [losing] is not near as frustrating [as in the past] because we are getting better," said junior co-captain Becky Bishop. "She is pushing the basics and we are getting better. We are not just falling on the floor this year."
"She has played, so she knows what she is doing," said junior setter Rochelle Quesenberry. "We are working on the fundamentals and being taught right."
Harrison hopes her youth and the fact that her playing career has just come to a close will work to her advantage.
"I am not an emotional speaker but I relate very well to the girls emotionally and mentally because I am so young," said Harrison.
Bishop agrees.
"She is just out of high school and college, so she understands," Bishop said.
While Harrison's youth may work to her advantage , the team's success ultimately hinges on the production of the players.
Quesenberry will play setter and be counted upon to set the table for the rest of the team. Sophomore Mandy Sexton will be a backup setter and a blocker. Seniors Kristi and Kelly Childress [no relation] will be the beneficary of most of Quesenberry's sets playing the hitter positions.
Bishop, in her third year with the team, is a back-row specialist and will be counted on to provide leadership. Tatum Neely, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, is also a co-captain.
Seniors Chandra Gessner and Misty Irby expect to contribute on a squad that is still experimenting in an attempt to find the lineup most likely to produce a victory.
"It's going to take some time to bring them up to the level to compete in our district," said Harrison. "But they work hard and have a bright future."
Memo: ***CORRECTION***