Stacking the deck

After playing an intrasquad game at practice last week, the Waynesboro volleyball team gathered around coach Lori Aleshire and picked from a deck of playing cards.

Each card drawn represented different exercises that the Little Giants had to do. It ranged from doing push-ups to sit-ups to running. Junior Rachel Binda picked the nine of spades. In her case, it was nine trips up and down Waynesboro High School stairs.

Lately, the Little Giants have picked the right cards, pulling Latoya Diggs and Shayla Jackson to play with their core veteran players. The combination has sparked the team up the standings in the Southern Valley District this season.

“Yeah, I picked the high card,” Binda laughed. “We always work hard at practice though. It has paid off for us. I’m encouraged by the way that we’ve been playing. The win against Draft gave us confidence.”

The Giants stole Stuarts Draft’s perfect S.Valley record with a four-game win on Sept. 29. The squad picked up another crucial win against Rockbridge County in four games on Oct. 9 and improved their district record to 4-2.

A week later, the Little Giants defeated Robert E. Lee on the road on Oct.14 bringing tally to five district wins.

The team has cultivated their rookies during the second half of the season. The teams’ three captains Binda, Haley Quesenbery and Norah Curtis have guided the new members like Diggs.

The sophomore has a better handle on playing at the varsity level.

“It was a little hard in the beginning,” Diggs said. “But I’m feeling more comfortable now. I learned a lot from Haley and Rachel. They have helped me a lot and they know how to get the team pumped up and stuff.”

Now Diggs is staying put on the varsity team.

“In the beginning Latoya wanted to come back [to JV]. I told her, ‘no’,” said JV coach Jemise Sandidge. “It hurt us when they [Diggs and Jackson] left, but I told them that they could do it. Now they are doing well playing at the varsity level. This is just a training ground to get players to that next level.”

Quesenbery didn’t mind that a couple of rookies came in to the fold.

“The key to success when you are younger is communication, that helps the new group of girls that come up,” Quesenbery said. “That will help them especially if players come up together.”

Besides communication with new players, there was no guarantee that the chemistry was there.

“I try never to be negative,” Binda said. “I give constructive criticism or advice because I’ve played volleyball since the third grade. I think we have done a good job bringing the JV players into our family. It’s like they have been with us since the beginning of the season.”

Aleshire nodded her head with approval.

“They are doing very well bringing the new girls in and being role models,” Aleshire said. “You need that especially if you want to win this district.”

Curtis didn’t take any props about leading anyone.

“Just because I’m considered a leader does not make me any better than the girls that come up,” Curtis said. “I’m here to help win this [district] in my last season and help the other girls.”

The Little Giants (8-9, 5-2 Southern Valley) will host Broadway on Thursday night in a non-district match.