The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Call it an embarrassment of riches for the Big Sandy junior high volleyball squad this year.

Nineteen girls will play for the Pioneers under the tutelage of Shersteen Cline, who coached the high school varsity last season.

"They like being a part of something. They like being with their friends," Cline said, considering the reasons for the turnout. "They get to burn off some of that energy before they go home."

Cline did not initially plan to coach, having had a baby in June, but when the younger players needed a mentor, she stepped up. She felt the shorter season would be manageable on top of her work of teaching business and science for the school.

"I'm just hoping that we can start to develop the fundamentals of the game ... so they can be ready to compete at the varsity level," Cline said. "If we're making improvements from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, that's all I can ask for, really ... and hopefully, they have some fun. This is a big group of girls."

She said she will be eyeing her most experienced players who have shown strong leadership skills when it comes time to select team captains.

Eighth graders on the squad are Lainey Terry, Tosha Allderdice, Mary Sunchild, Teagan Cochran, Kodi-Jo Phillips and transfer Mia Tedrick.

Seventh grade players are Kaya Demontiney, Jai Baumann, Alex Worrall, Carmen Tan, Kadee Sternberg, Lindsey Cline, Loni Ophus and Jenny Sant, who is another transfer student.

Brianna Terry, Heather Frank, Tori Dixon, Danni Phillips and Keira Oats represent the sixth grade on the Pioneer team.

Cline said that in practices up to this point, they have been a relatively quiet bunch, with coach and players alike feeling each other out.

"I don't think that they have gotten to that point of being used to me just yet," she said.

Late last week, running laps in the gymnasium got the team warmed up and ready to begin. The young players then lined up in drills to begin practice, working to get themselves in position underneath and catching balls tossed to them by their coach. They built up to taking to the air themselves and spiking shots over the net at center court.

The Pioneers will open their season with a road trip Friday to a tournament at Centerville. They will play their first home game on Friday, Sept. 6, against the St. Jude's Thaddeus 49ers from Havre.

Cline said the team's biggest rival is probably Hi-Line opponent North Star.

"That's always kind of a big one," she said.

The Knights will visit Big Sandy for a 9 a.m. tilt on Saturday, Sept. 14, and the Pioneers will return the favor by traveling to Gildford for a match on Thursday, Sept. 19.