James Kerrell was in his first year leading the team, and although his track record indicated he was a good fit, and he had coached many of the players in middle school and club volleyball, there were questions if his style would play well with a team trying to bounce back.

And no matter who the coach might be or the record from the previous season, there is always the question of how a team will stack up in a tough district with Niceville, Mosley, Leon and Chiles.

The Lady Bulldogs and Kerrell answered all the questions and more in posting a 12-11 record.

Kerrell is pleased with what the Bulldogs accomplished last year, but now he wants them to take the next step.

“We were right where I felt we should be,” he said of last season. “We felt like we improved a lot. I had goals I was looking for and one was to have a winning season.

“Now we want to build on that this year and to continue to improve,” Kerrell continued. There are a few teams we might surprise because they might not realize how talented we are. They kind of see us as a young team, and I hope they count us out.”

The Bulldogs might be young, but Kerrell likes the team’s talent and chemistry.

“I have a team full of key players,” Kerrell said. “When it comes to the hitting, Avery Price, who is a senior middle hitter, is someone I will look to for a lot of leadership.

“My outside hitters, it’s going to be very key that we’re consistent there with Kaeden Foxx and Dina Sheiko,” Kerrell continued. And then Aubrey Sheffield and Kaeden are going to be bouncing back and forth between the outside (hitter) and the other middle position and that’s going to be key to getting the offense going.”

No volleyball offense will succeed without great passing and Kerrell believes the Lady Bulldogs possess passers capable of doing the job.

“When it comes to passing, every great team is a great passing team,” he said. “Marissa Merkel, Carleigh Krumnow are defensive specialist. All of those girls (Foxx, Sheiko, Sheffield, Merkel and Krumnow) are going to be vital in us being able to run a faster offense and being able to play and be successful.

Setting should also be a strength.

“We have three setters this year with Shaylee Federick, Camille Reeves and a move in, Kayleigh Satterfield,” Kerrell said. “All of them are underclassmen, and that’s good because we are able to grow, but we are still trying to narrow down how we want to do things.”

In the end, the Bulldogs will need to do well at the basics.

“I just know we have to do good at the serve line and with our passing,” Kerrell said. “And then I feel like our offense will round into place.”

“Coaching girls is difficult these days,” she said. “They are different from when I was in school. I have to have more patience with them.”

If the Laurel Hill fortunes are to do an about face, it will be on the shoulders of the senior class.

“This is a heavy (big) senior class,” Campbell said. “I’m expecting them to do good things this year.”

Senior setter Raelee McDonald is a player that Campbell described as being, “really good.”

Another leader on the team should be Laramie Boykin.

“Any ball that she can get up in the air, if it’s anywhere near her, she’s going to get it,” Campbell said. “And then Kennedi Kilpatrick is going to be a strong middle for us. Saige Rainey, she’ll be our libero and she goes after everything.”

The Hoboes did lose three seniors from the 2022 team to graduation. Campbell said the players stepping in for the graduates lack experience, but should do fine.

“We’re actually going to be a little bit better,” she said. “The ones coming in to replace them (the players that graduated) are a little bit more athletic and go getters.”

Campbell believes the team has potential to exceed expectations with the seniors leading the way.

“Oh, we’re ready,” she said. “They put in the work this summer. We took them to a camp.

“They’re ready to go.”

Her biggest concern is how the team will handle adversity and disappointment.

“I don’t know how they will keep their confidence and stay motivated if we get hammered one night,” Campbell said. “It’s how well they will rally for the next match.”

Laurel Hill is in the same District 1-1A as North Okaloosa foe Baker, but the teams don’t play in the regular season.

Campbell hopes her team will get a shot at the Gators in a later round of the district tournament. If that happens, it means the season has probably been a success for the Lady Hoboes.

Campbell knows it’s not just a matter of work that will propel the Lady Hoboes forward, but how they work in a push to improve.

“I try to remind them daily, even at practice, they are still going to get down on themselves,” she said. “But when they are happy go lucky and play free, they can do big things.”

“We were very resilient,” Kerrell said. “We started out down in the first two sets and we fought back, and we were able to finally win. I thought they played with a lot of heart, a lot of emotion.

“They were very aggressive tonight. I like that. There are just a lot of little things we’ve got to work on and get better at.”

Washington twice led by four points in the first set. The first time at 6-2. The second time at 24-20 with the chance to take the set.

Each time the resiliency Kerrell mentioned came through.

Dina Sheikho, Aubrey Sheffield and Kaeden Foxx sparked the run that put the Lady Bulldogs up 13-11. Crestview’s biggest lead of the set was 17-14 with Avery Price in serve. A kill by Sheikho gave the Lady

Washington’s 10-3 run had Crestview on the brink of defeat. But there was no quit in the Lady Bulldogs.

Caterina Dall`olio, a senior exchange student from Italy, scored. The score was followed by a kill from Foxx, an unforced Washington error and a kill by Price to knot the set at 24-24.

A kill by Washington gave the Lady Wildcats a 25-24 lead and the serve, but a service error by Washington tied the set 25-25.

With Foxx in serve, the Lady Bulldogs closed out the set on back-to-back kills by Sheikho.

Set two was more of the same as Washington led 20-14 only to see Crestview come roaring back.

Sheffield set the tone for the comeback with three aces and Foxx had a kill as the Lady Bulldogs pulled to within a point trailing 20-19.

The score was 22-22 when Foxx took over in serve for Crestview. The Lady Bulldogs closed out the set with a kill by Savana Anders, followed by an ace by Foxx and a Washington net violation.

The Lady Bulldogs were hot to start the third set and held a 13-5 lead before being outscored 20-7 to drop the third set.

Crestview was still up two sets to one needing to win just one more set to take the match.

Set four was the tightest set of the match with the largest lead by either team being five points before Crestview matched that lead in the final score of 25-20.

Price, Foxx and Sheikho continued to come up big in the final set. Shaylee Frederick and Camille Reeves, a pair of juniors, turned in great performances down the home stretch as well.

Reeves was in serve as the Lady Bulldogs extended the lead to 24-19 behind two kills each from Foxx and Price.

The teams then exchange scores with Crestview holding on for the win.

“Resiliency is what’s going to make us into a championship team,” Kerrell said. “You have to be able to battle. Washington is a good team.

“I felt like we really stepped up when we needed to. Hopefully, in the long run, having those tight matches and face a little adversity will pay off in the end for us.”

“It was a really good turn around,” Price said of last season. “It sucks only winning two games, but coming in from last year gave us a lot of hope for the program.”

Price has length and explosiveness to go along with her size, that will good at the high school level, often finds her facing opponents two or three inches taller.

She has no explanation for her leaping ability.

“I just jump,” she said. “Wherever it (the ball) goes, I go.”

Lady Bulldog coach James Kerrell said Price might offer a simple explanation for her ability, which is true in part. To go along with her natural talent, Price has put in the work to be a great player. That hard work will be needed as Price moves from outside hitter to the middle of the net.

“Over the summer and during our club season, she really put in a lot of work playing at the middle hitter spot,” Kerrell said. “She has really gotten comfortable with it and has started taking a more aggressive leadership role when it comes to that front row.

“The other night in the preseason classic, there was one stretch of plays where she had three blocks in a row and it was just sheer athleticism and her just really taking control and dominating the front row. She’s very quick and athletic.”

Price has been playing volleyball since her sixth-grade year at Shoal River Middle School. She also played basketball and softball for the Lady Mustangs. Price continued to play softball as a CHS freshman, before deciding to dedicate herself to volleyball.

“It just took my heart and I just love the sport more,” she said.

Volleyball is more than a sport Price plays for the Lady Bulldogs. Her volleyball schedule has been year-round throughout her high school days. She admits all the time on the court does put stress on her body, but it’s worth it.

Constantly playing the sport has allowed her to more quickly develop her skills in hopes of playing college volleyball.

Price has yet to receive any offers, but that’s not uncommon for players at the start of their senior season. A strong year as a middle hitter following her success last your will likely give her the opportunity she desires to play at the next level.

Kerrell is confident that she will put in the work needed to reach her goals.

“She probably wouldn’t play middle at college,” he said. “She would be an outside or right side hitter, probably up to the Division II level. But we need her in the middle and she does a great job.

“In the future that’s going to help her too because depending on where she plays (attends school), she could be playing middle, she could be playing outside.”

For the next few months, Kerrell is just glad that Price is a Lady Bulldog.

“She has done everything I’ve asked her to and never complained,” he said. “She sets an example with her dedication that is huge for the program and this year’s team.”

If you haven’t figured out what sport it is by now, it’s beach volleyball.

Beach volleyball has been around for years, but only recently has it made its way into the mainstream of high school sports.

James Kerrell, who coaches the hardcourt Lady Bulldogs volleyball team in the fall, is also coaching the Lady Bulldogs in the sand.

“It’s been interesting,” Kerrell said. “The game is a little bit different. The rules are a little bit different.

“All of the girls have had to make adjustments playing in pairs,” he added. “It’s a whole new level of being able to communicate with your teammate and depend on them, because there are just the two of them.”

Beach volleyball is played on an 8-meter-by-8-meter court (approximately 25-feet-by-25-feet). At times, running through the sand can make covering the court difficult.

Kerrell described beach volleyball as being way more laid back than its hardcourt sibling.

Freshman Kaeden Foxx, a former Shoal River volleyball player, has quickly taken to the beach game.

“It wasn’t hard,” she said of transition to beach volleyball. “The most difficult part is being able to read the hitter and knowing where you are on the court.”

She said the best part was diving in the sand as opposed to going after a ball on the hardwood. She also said conditioning is different as the players had to get their legs ready to play in sand.

The Lady Bulldogs haven’t had any home matches this season. But they do have courts just beyond the right field fence of the CHS baseball field.

The courts have been perfect for practice. Work will be done on the courts during the summer so they will be ready for the season next season.

Much like tennis, the winner of an overall beach volleyball match is determined by the team that wins the most two-on-two matches. Five sets of teams from each school compete to determine the overall winner of the match.

The first two sets are played to 21 points in each two-on-two match. If needed, the third set tie-breaker is played to 15 points.

“You know, the matches actually go kind of quick,” Kerrell said. “The biggest challenge for me as a coach is I can’t talk to my girls while they are playing. I can only talk to them during time outs.”

“I really enjoyed their program.”

Kerrell said she will probably play setter at Wallace, but hitter positions are possible as well.

“I want to set,” she said. “She (Wiggins) is betting on me setting.”

The Bulldogs rebounded from a 2-win season in 2021 to have a winning record at 12-11 this year under James Kerrell, Sam’s father.

“I really didn’t see myself playing in college,” Sam said. “But this season really showed me the love and compassion and all of the fun stuff that volleyball has always provided me for my whole life. Seeing that and feeling that, I just wanted to pursue college.”

Sam preparing for college marks the end of an era for James. Sam’s older sister, Emily, also played for James.

“I had a special relationship with her older sister, Emily,” James said. “And I have a special relationship with Sam. It’s going to be weird not driving to volleyball tournaments with my daughter.

“I’m proud of her work ethic. I’m proud of how much she has grown as a person and as a player. I don’t worry about her at college because I know that she’s driven.”

Both Sam and James admit that she needs to work on her confidence level as she takes the next step of her volleyball journey.

Speaking as a coach, James is confident Sam has the skill set needed to do well at Wallace. “She has the foundation,” he said. “She has the skills to be a very successful setter at the next level. I feel like she can contribute to their program. She just got to be willing to put that work in and continue to improve.”