Felicity-Franklin junior Ashley Moore plays a ball over the net while her teammates prepare for the ball’s return in a match earlier this season.

Felicity-Franklin junior Ashley Moore plays a ball over the net while her teammates prepare for the ball’s return in a match earlier this season.
By Chris Chaney
Sun staff

It had been 20 years since the Felicity-Franklin Lady Cardinals had last won a sectional volleyball championship. And while program still has never claimed a district championship after losing to Jackson Center on Saturday, Oct. 25, head coach Damon Smith thinks that this year’s success is the type of motivator his team and school can build upon.

“One of the things we did (this postseason) was move all of our JV players up to the varsity for the tournament to give them the opportunity to be a part of it,” Smith said. “All of the girls had the opportunity to practice alongside varsity as well as the opportunity to go to the sectional and district tournaments with us. I’m hopeful that stimulated a motivation in them to want to do something special going forward.

“I think that was a good experience for all of them. It was refreshing to win a sectional again and make it to the districts. It’s another step in the right direction towards a milestone to be achieved.”

With the season complete, Smith was able to look back on the accomplishments of a successful season, including a 17-9 overall record and a 6-4 mark in the Southern Buckeye Conference National Division in which the Lady Cardinals finished in third place behind Clermont Northeastern and Williamsburg. Paramount among the achievements, however, was that sectional title.

“We had already accomplished something (going into the district) that we hadn’t done in 20 years,” Smith said. “Our first goal of the season when we set out was to win a sectional championship and we did that.”

Smith allowed that winning the sectional put a nice bow on the season, but he harbored some loftier goals having seen how well his team had played to end the regular season and begin the postseason.

Coming into the district championship, Jackson Center was ranked No. 2 in the state in Division IV and had yet to lose a match all season. The Lady Tigers proved why they were held in such high esteem by taking down Felicity in straight sets, 25-9, 25-8, 25-5.

“They turned out to be a little bit more than we could handle,” Smith said. “They set the ball up nicely and we just weren’t as good of a team as they were on Saturday.”

While the Lady Tigers move on to the regional semifinal on Oct. 29 at Tippecanoe High School, Felicity can rest on the fact that they have returned their volleyball program to prominence.

Given Felicity’s secluded geography, Smith said in order for his program to take the next step, they need to strengthen it from within.

“The nucleus of underclassmen coming back are good athletes and they know how to win,” Smith explained. “We don’t have the luxury of playing club ball because the nearest team is probably 25 miles away. So, our girls need to be in the gym (in the offseason) and we need to provide them the opportunities to get in there. I think (this year) stimulated some drive to see what we need to move on to the next step.”