THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250451
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Long : 138 lines
From behind the yellow-gold curtain, rock 'n' roll music blares through the Manteo High School gymnasium.
But there's no dancing, no pep rally, no parade.
It's all business.
The Manteo girls volleyball team, perhaps the winningest in the school's sporting life, is gunning for a shot at history.
The Lady Redskins, 24-0 on the year and the three-time defending Northeastern Conference champions, will try to advance to the Class 2A quarterfinals at 6 tonight against Warsaw's James Kenan High.
The music was still rocking the house as Coach Stu Serine put his team through one of its final workouts before tonight's match. But except for one player's lip-syncing to the song, the players are concentrating on the drill of the moment.
All eyes are on the ball, and the coach. The leathery echoes of each pass, set and spike is broken by shouts of ``Mine!''
As the drill ends, Serine orders his troops each to serve 15 balls. Then the girls gather in a circle, hands on each other's backs.
``Pull that monkey off our backs,'' Serine says, and each girl plucks an invisible monkey off a teammate's back. For the first time, a Manteo team has advanced to the third round of the playoffs. In each of the two previous seasons, second-round losses to Guilford and Lewisburg ended the dream of a trip to Chapel Hill for the state playoffs.
This is a special club for Serine, who returned to lead the team this year after taking a year off for personal reasons. He has served as either assistant or head coach in seven of the eight years of competitive volleyball at Manteo. He has seen the program rise from dust to diamonds.
``It's exciting,'' Serine says. ``You can't help but get excited watching these girls play. But we don't get a lot of people here until the playoffs.''
But while team members say they are disappointed at tiny crowds made up of boyfriends, parents and relatives, the almost empty gymnasiums don't matter.
``We work so hard to accomplish what we do,'' says Leah Midgett, a senior. ``If we were to go out and do something bad, we'd get more recognition than we do for what we've done that's good. I don't think it's as important for us to prove something to our fans. We have to prove something to other teams.''
Senior teammate Samantha Buchanan takes the argument a step further.
``We've got something to prove to ourselves,'' she says.
For the team, the on-the-floor goal is obvious.
``We sat down at the beginning of the year, and each girl listed her goals for the year. Every one of them circled Nov. 4 on the calendar,'' Serine says.
Nov. 4 marks the start of the state finals in Chapel Hill on the University of North Carolina campus.
But what may be a more important factor in Manteo's trip on the road to Chapel Hill has nothing to do with volleyball.
``Last year, we had some problems on the team,'' says Heather Daniels, one of the state's top players. ``This year, it was really important that we like each other. We wanted everybody to get along.''
Midgett adds, ``I think we're a more close-knit team than we were last year.''
The change in the heart of the team has carried over to its coach. Before this season, Serine says his on-floor demeanor resembled the rantings and ravings of Indiana basketball Coach Bob Knight. But thanks to the influence of UNC Coach Joe Sagula, Serine says he is a changed man. And even though he was out of coaching last season, the social studies teacher says his heart was always with the team.
``I never really left,'' he says. ``I always knew what was going on. But now, I'm a better, more sensitive coach. I used to get really frustrated when we didn't do some of the things I knew we could do. I think this year, I'm more accepting. I learned . . . that when you holler, it doesn't always help.''
Serine hasn't had much reason to yell this season. A senior class that has won 69 matches in the past three years leads this gifted team.
``One of our great assets is that this team is very businesslike,'' Serine says. ``If they get behind, there's no panic, no fear. They are very methodical.
``They are very serious. If they ever get down, they know how to dig in their heels and play their brand of volleyball.''
The 1995 team has three strong hitters, led by Heather Daniels, Buchanan and Evie Daniels. Leah Midgett sets the table for the big guns.
``Leah is the epitome of heart,'' Serine says. ``She plays as hard as she can every time she's on the floor.''
The luxury of three hitters takes some of the pressure off Heather Daniels, who has attracted the attention of college scouts. She was also named the school's homecoming queen earlier this month. Serine has bestowed other titles on Daniels.
``She's Miss Power, Miss Consistency. She's the premier volleyball player in this area, and probably among the top three in the east. She brings a lot of intangibles to the floor.
``She's our leader. but she doesn't do a lot of yelling and screaming. She leads so much by example.''
But with solid front line play, other teams have not been able to key on Daniels.
``She's still our go-to player,'' Serine says.
``But we have some very talented athletes. If other teams concentrate on her, we have other players who can do the job.''
Three juniors in the middle - Amy Lane, Julia Cooper and Sarah Jones - have helped the Lady Redskins. What was expected to be a weak link in Manteo's machine has been transformed into a strength, Serine says.
But despite the pressures inherent in this season of perfection, Serine has tried to maintain a laid-back approach. Rock `n' roll is a staple not only at practice, but at matches as well.
``The girls are always smiling and happy at matches,'' he says. ``Other teams come in, and they see that, and the music, and they wonder what they're walking into.''
But Serine and Assistant Coach John DeCarmo are quick to remind their club that the job is a long way from being finished.
``In the past, I think going to Chapel Hill was a nebulous sort of thing,'' Serine says. ``There were some doubts. You don't get to be one of the top eight teams in the state by accident. But we have a long way to go. The girls are starting to realize that.''
Serine talks like a proud father when he talks about his team, girls who are not only winners in volleyball, but leaders at the school.
``These are well-rounded girls,'' he says. ``They work hard in class, and they are role models in school. We don't have any takers on this team, all of them are givers. One of the goals they had was they all wanted to be friends. We've done that.''
Tonight, that group of friends tries to cross a big hurdle in its drive to a dream.
``I've never wanted anything so badly in my life,'' Leah Midgett says of a hoped-for trip to Chapel Hill.
``I got sort of sad this week, because I thought, `This is my last Monday practice before my last home match.' I don't want this to end.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
ON THE BALL
Members of the Manteo High volleyball team, led by Heather Daniels,
center, hope to be rocking the house with their music and play
action as they try to advance to the Class 2A quarter-fnals tonight
at 6 against Warsaw's James Kenan High. ``You can't help but get
excited watching these girls play,'' says Coach Stu Serine. ``But we
don't get a lot of people here until the playoffs.''
DREW C. WILSON
The Virginian-Pilot
by CNB