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The Kings Mountain Herald | www.kmherald.net
August 8, 2012
Spikers open season Monday at home against Mickory
Kings Mountain High’s varsity volleyball team opens its season Monday at home against Hickory. Team mem-
bers are, first row, left to right, Jazmene Stevenson, Gracie Hunter, Tyerah Blake, Lyndsey Murphey and Taquisha
Smith. Back row, head coach Ashley Pridgeon, Sarah Blalock, Natalie Fedyschyn, Logan Smith, Mary Asgari,
Kayla Bolt, Adrienne Green, Olivia Blalock and assistant coach Tracy Greene.
Kings = Mountain High’s
women’s volleyball team lost
most of the players off last year’s
Big South 3A Conference cham-
pionship team but is hoping the
players’ hard work during the off-
season and pre-season will pay
big dividends this season.
Second-year coach Ashley
Pridgeon and her Lady Moun-
taineers will be taking a defensive
approach this year after losing a
lot of height and talent from last
year’s team, including Big South
Player of the Year Nicole Ford,
Morgan Robinson and others.
"This year’s tallest player is re-
turning setter, Logan Smith, who
is 5-10.
It is also one of the youngest
Mountaineer teams in recent years
with only four seniors.
“Most of the players didn’t get
a lot of playing time last year,”
Pridgeon noted. “We're pretty
young. Most of them are juniors.
Obviously, last year we had
Nicole Ford and Morgan Robin-
son and they pretty much led the
team.”
Pridgeon and her new assistant
coach, Tracy Greene, have been
stressing defense in the pre-sea-
son and the coaches were happy
with the way the D showed in last
Saturday’s multi-team scrimmage
at Parker Gym. They were sched-
uled to scrimmage Charlotte Latin
away yesterday.
“Starting out we’re going to
have to be a strong defensive
team,” Pridgeon says. “We did
very well on defense Saturday. If
we see strong offensive teams we
hope we can frustrate them with
strong defense.”
Smith is the only returning
starter but several other returning
players got some playing time last
season.
Pridgeon sees Forestview and
Crest, and possibly North Gaston,
as the teams to beat in the Big
South. She hopes to see the Lady
Mountaineers in the mix as well.
“I expect Forestview to be
strong offensively and defen-
sively,” she said. “We will have to
play great against them.
“Crest has two big hitters that
Kings Mountain High’s JV volleyball team opens its regular season August
13 at home against Hickory. Game time is 4:30. Left to right, front row,
Shania Portee, Nastajah Hutchens, Shadeah Reid and Tatiyana Hopper.
Back row, varsity coach Ashley Pridgeon, Taylor Wade, Angel Peterson,
Gwen Hopper, Peyton Lemons and JV coach Tracy Greene.
can cause us problems if we're
not strong on defense.
“We have no height on offense.
Our setter is probably our tallest
starter. Sophomore Kayla Bolt
will probably play in the middle
and she’s about 5-10. That’s noth-
ing compared to the height we had
last season.”
Pridgeon will also be looking
to Mary Asgari, Tyerah Blake,
Olivia Blalock, Sarah Blalock,
Natalie Fedyschyn, Adrienne
Green, Gracie Hunter, Lyndsey
Murphy, Taquisha Smith and
Jazmene ‘Stevenson to provide
quality playing time.
She says her main goal in Au-
gust non-conference games will
time for the conference opener
against South Point on August 30
at Parker Gym.
“We have a lot of girls that
played volleyball last year so we
will see which ones work the best
together,” she said. “I do like our
depth. We have five outside hit-
ters, four middle hitters and two
setters. That’s something we did-
n’t have last year.”
The Lady Mountaineers have
won five conference champi-
onships in a row, but they’ve
taken early exits from the state
tournament most of those years.
“Obviously, we are trying to
win the conference again,” she
said. “We would not like to give
that up.” :
Deadline Monday for 2000-11
Mountaineers to notify school
Monday is the deadline for
players, coaches and volunteers
who were a part of the 2000-
2011 teams to notify the school
if they will be taking part in the
90th anniversary activities at
the August 17 game against
East Rutherford.
KMHS will be honoring all
former Mountaineers at desig-
nated football games this fall.
Five home games have been
designated to honor players by
decades.
All former players, coaches
and volunteers will be admitted
free, be fed and recognized be-
fore their designated game be-
ginning at 6 p.m. in the South
end zone. They will be honored
by decades.
The schedule is as follows:
Aug. 17 vs. East Rutherford
- Players, coaches and volun-
teers from 2000-2011.
Sept. 7 vs. Alexander Cen-
tral - Players, coaches and vol-
unteers from 1990-99. -
Sept. 14 vs. South Point -
Players, coaches and volunteers
from 1980-1989.
Sept. 21 vs. Shelby - Play-
3 Year Pledge and In-Kind Gift Contributors
- Carl Champion Hall Builders ¢ Flooring America ¢ Forever Green ¢ KM Sports
Hall of Fame Jay & Sandy Rhodes © David & Marie Brinkley KM Touchdown
Club» Dale & Diane Hollifield Wayne Turner ¢ Shirley Brutko David & Sherry.
Clippard » Grady Howard Dr. GK Howard Jr. « The Cerjan Family Kristie
Brinkley « » Kerns Trucking ® Donald Smith ¢ Andy Neisler » C&C Heating
& Cooling » Kings Mountain Kiwanis Harold & Debbie Farris ¢ Bryan and Carri
-Jones ¢ Baker-Dental Care ¢ Coach John Gamble Family « Bob McRae ¢ Vernon
McDaniel « Jerry Hoyle » Jackie McRae © Kings Mountain YMCA e Jeff & Karen
Lineberger Gary Stewart ¢ Jeff and Kathy Falls ¢ Ronnie and Libby Hawkins
Steven Baker » C & C Scrap Iron and Metal » Dub & Carolyn Blalock * Jake & Do
Dixon * Brian Osteen « Reatha Blackwell » Jim and Jagitha Reid * KM Rotary Clu
: « KM Animal Hospital * Jim and Wanda White » Gene Patterson © Richard
Anderson e Dustin Morehead © Lowe's Home Improvement ¢ Neisler Foundati
* Mr. and Mrs. John O. Harris Ill * Charlie, Justin, and Zach Smith « Parker"
. Amoco * Myra McGinnis Chip and Laura McGill Cunningham Brick ¢ Joh
Goforth « Bridges Hardware * Ernie and Tara Teague * Andy Hollifield * Rick H
+ Jeff Mauney * Scism & Son « Edward & Brenda Lovelace * Love's Fish Box
Todd & Kelly Lovelace ¢ Luke Rikard ¢ David Brinkley Jr.e
KM Tourism Development Authority » Ronnie and Mary Wilson .
DeWayne and Jada Clark « Danny and Kathy Bryant » KM Hospital
ers, coaches and volunteers
from 1970-79.
Oct. 19 vs. Crest - Players,
coaches and volunteers from
1922-1969.
The following information
needs to be taken to the main
office at KMHS no later than
the Monday preceding the game
when you will be honored:
Name, Year graduated, and
Best memory of KM football.
For more information con-
tact athletic director Dustin
Morehead at 704-476-8000 ext.
3054.
Wednesday, Aug. 8 |
6 p.m. - High school football, Kings Mountain
JV and Varsity in scrimmage at Freedom High,
Morganton.
TBA - High school soccer, Kings Mountain at
Burns Jamboree.
Friday, Aug. 10
8 p.m. - High school football, Kings Mountain
vs. Rock Hill Northwestern in Cleveland
County Jamboree at Crest.
Monday, Aug. 13
4:30 - High school volleyball, Hickory at Kings
be finding a lineup that clicks in
Sports This Week
Mountain (JV/varsity DH).
6 p.m. - High school soccer, Kings Mountain
at Burns.
Tuesday, Aug. 14
4:30 - High schoot volleyball, Polk County at
Kings Mountain (JV/varsity DH).
Wednesday, Aug. 15
4 p.m. - High school tennis, Kings Mountain
at Shelby.
6 p.m. - High school soccer. Kings Mountain
at Shelby.
Needed: Eighty
people to
$500 for
pledge
new field
house at KMHS
GARY STEWART
Sports Editor
Needed: 80 people to pledge $500 a year
over the next three years to the Kings Moun-
tain High School field house project.
Kings Mountain Touchdown Club Presi-
dent David Brinkley, who is spearheading
the drive to raise over $800,000 for a new
field house for KMHS athletics, reports that
the total amount of monetary and in-kind
pledges reached $575,000 as of July 31 and
the drive is now within $40,000 of being 2ble
to break ground.
“We’re very close to making this a real-
ity,” Brinkley noted.
The club needs approximately $220,000
in monetary contributions and pledges over
the next three years to fully fund the facility.
However, when the club has one-third of the
cost in actual money and pledges the project
can go forward. In-kind gifts cannot be
counted as cash on hand needed to secure a
loan,
“We need about 80 people to pledge ‘an
average of $500 a year for the three year pe-
riod,” he said. “I know some people may not
"be able to give that much, but I’m sure there
are others than can give more. Any amount is
greatly appreciated.”
Brinkley noted that at the end of June
contributions, in-kind donations and pledges
totaled $296,000. So, to be closing in‘ on
$600,000 a month later makes him very
happy and confident that the drive will be a
big success. “We had an excellent July, and
hope for another good month in August.
“I know in the beginning that some felt
like this might be a pipe dream,” he said.
’But we have seen how much people in the
“community support their schools and athletic
programs. Updating our athletic facilities
will be an asset for the community.”
Brinkley noted, that when the field house
4
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is completed it will be the nicest one in the
‘ county. He is a strong believer that people
considering moving into a community looks
first at its schools, including athletic facili-
ties, and Kings Mountain’s economy will be
boosted because of the field house.
“The Touchdown Club has been very
pleased with the response we are getting
from businesses and individuals,” he said.
“We hope to see the project put out to bids in
the next few weeks, and we hope to have
more in-kind gifts in addition to the mone-
tary contributions and pledges.”
In-kind gifts can greatly reduce the total
cost of the project. Companies that have al-
ready pledged in-kind gifts are Hall Builders,
Forever Green, Flooring America, Kerns |
Trucking, Lowe’s Home Tmprovement, Cun-
ningham Brick, Bridges Hardware and Con-
crete Supply/Martin Marietta.
“We really appreciate the support that
First National Bank has given to this proj-
ect,” he said. “They really do a lot of good
work in our community.”
Brinkley urges all fans, businesses, for-
mer KMHS athletes, parents and grandpar-
ents of current and future athletes to get
involved in the effort. Pledge forms are avail-
able on the Kings Mountain Touchdown
Club website (kingsmountaintouchdown-
club.webs.com) or you can LIKE Kings
Mountain Touchdown Club on Facebook..
Persons wishing to make a pledge over a
three-year period may do so at First National
Bank. An architectural drawing of the field
house and floor plans are located in the lobby
of First National. ?
“We need all different levels of contribu-
tions,” said Brinkley. “We hope that our
young parents with children in the lower
grade levels will participate. Children in the
third, fourth and-fifth grades right now are
the ones that are really going to benefit from
this.”