CALEDONIA — Morgan Smith wasn’t sure she could do it.
Elisha Collins wasn’t convinced someone could step into the role.
It didn’t take long for Smith and Collins long to find common ground and discover that they could work together.
The Caledonia High School volleyball team has reaped the rewards of that hard work this season.
At 2 p.m. today, Caledonia will look to Smith and Collins to do what they have done all season when it takes on Lewisburg in the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1 tournament.
With only two seniors — Stevi Carter and Ashley Langford — on the roster, Caledonia has relied on a mix of versatile players to overcome key graduation losses. Setter Marlana Dolan was one of those players who moved on. He ability to direct the Lady Confederates’ attack led Smith to wonder if she was ready to step into her role.
“It has felt like a really great responsibility,” Smith said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to match up to how good she was last year, and I was a little scared I wasn’t going to be good enough, but our team has really brought me up and made me so comfortable as a setter. I have worked really hard this year. I am working harder and getting better.”
Smith plays with a calm that belies the fact she is a sophomore. Caledonia coach Samantha Brooks said Smith has “great hands,” which allow her to deliver a set that is in just the right place for hitters.
“I feel really comfortable when I play,” Smith said. “I just kind of go with the flow and I think off the top of my head, and whatever needs to be done I do it to help my team and to be a plus to my team.”
Collins, a 6-footer who plays in all of the rotations, said Smith has done an “amazing” job. But if you likely wouldn’t have received the same answer early in the season if you asked her what she thought of Smith.
“Before the season started I was scared because Marlana was so good all around, and I was afraid Morgan wasn’t going to fill that,” Collins said. “But she ended up surprising me and she fulfilled everything I needed and everything our whole team needed.”
Collins said Smith is her “best friend on and off the court,” and that she hopes to play in some beach volleyball tournaments with her. She went so far to say Smith is “the only person I fully trust to be there for me as a setter and as a person. She is just great. She has all of the potential.”
Smith feels the same way about Collins.
“Elisha can be as good as she wants to be,” Smith said. “She is going to be an amazing athlete when she gets older. She is an amazing athlete now, but in a couple of years she is going to smash.”
Smith hopes to help Collins realize that potential by pumping her up and motivating her at the right times. Collins acknowledged she plays better when she is mad, and Smith said she has had to work her magic this season to get Collins riled up.
“We have to keep the hitters up,” Smith said. “We (support each other) a lot. It has been really effective because when we stay up we’re more on target with our setting and our hitting.”
Collins welcomes Smith’s help and admits her “mean streak” probably needs to come out more often. If it does, defenses better look out.
“When I get mad, my hitting does improve a lot,” said Collins, who has played club volleyball with Mississippi Juniors and Tupelo Juniors. “Maybe that needs to happen a little bit more, and that can probably push me forward.
“I don’t think I am where I am supposed to be.”
For now, though, Caledonia is right where it is supposed to be. Another effort like the one the team had Tuesday in a 3-0 victory against Aberdeen in the first round of the tournament would push Caledonia on step closer to a state title.
Smith and Collins will do everything they can to help the Lady Confederates get there. If it doesn’t happen this year, they are focused on growing together and becoming the best players they can be.
“I am always encouraging her and telling her to keep going, doing what she is doing and to keep working hard,” Smith said. “I want to help her by knowing which sets she needs. When I see her, I want to know exactly where I have to put it so she knows she can go after it and we can get a point.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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