By By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
WILLIAMSTON — They complement each other as perfectly as any other greats sports duo. Karl Malone wouldn’t have been as great without John Stockton, Jerry Rice couldn’t catch passes without Joe Montana and at Williamston High School’s Katie Paschal couldn’t deliver her devastating spikes without assists from Heather Jackson.
The two seniors formed a terrific tandem that powered the Tigers to a 19-4 record and pushed them all the way to the third round of the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs, so it only made sense that they both be named the Washington Daily News Co-Volleyball Players of the Year.
The honor is Paschal’s second straight, and the first for Jackson.
One of the best athletes in the state, Paschal is also the WDN’s reining two-time basketball player of the year and will be playing hoops for East Carolina University next fall.
Paschal, who acknowledges that basketball is her favorite of the two sports, said she has grown to love volleyball as well.
“I really enjoy playing volleyball … more than I though that I would,” Paschal said. “I have been playing since my eighth grade year, but since high school I have really enjoyed it a lot.
The Tigers’ outside hitter racked up 176 kills and 121 service points this season. Paschal has been a force up front for the past two seasons thanks in large part to her jumping ability and hand-eye-coordination.
“The main thing Katie brings to the table is that she is able to hit the ball down and scores,” Tigers coach Herbie Rogers said. “In volleyball that is really, really important that you have person who can score like she can. She gave us an opportunity to win a lot of ball games just because she can hit the ball.”
Her thunderous kills always drew the crowd’s attention, but Rogers said that her defensive ability is equally stellar.
“The one thing that often gets over looked is her defense,” Rogers said. “There are a lot of balls that get hit at her because of our defensive scheme, and she has done a great job playing defense. She is not just a one dimensional player.”
Of course all those kills would not be possible without the play of Jackson. The senior setter is a four-year starter at Williamston and has been one of the best volleyball players in the area for a long time.
Like Paschal, Jackson is also great athlete who is a two-sport star, and was named to the WDN all-area softball team for two years in a row.
Jackson sports quick feet that allow her to cover a tremendous amount of ground, which is coupled with fantastic vision and accuracy.
Aside from all her physical gifts, Rogers said that Jackson’s best asset is her instincts.
“She always gets to the second ball regardless of where it’s at on the court,” Rogers said. “She always has enough quickness and speed to get to the ball and get it up in the air. … She has a really good knack of being able to see the play develop as it happens and knowing where to be and when to be there. She just made the game a whole lot easier with her intuition.”
Perhaps nobody benefited more from Jackson’s instincts than Paschal, who said she is fully aware of how much her teammate has helped her game.
“I always tell Heather that without her I couldn’t hit, and that’s the truth because she sets me up perfectly so many times,” Paschal said. “I have just really enjoyed playing with her the last few years.”
On the flip side, Jackson said that Paschal’s range and vertical leap make it nearly impossible for her to miss her target.
“I’ve enjoyed having Katie as an outside hitter because I know that if it’s not a good pass, as long as I get it near her she will hit it no matter what.”
Jackson cited her the Tigers rallying from two games down to beat Jamesville in the playoffs as her favorite moment of the season, while Paschal said the team’s 3-0 sweep over Manteo in the regular season was her favorite.
With Jackson and Paschal sharing player of the year this season, the Tigers have held that honor for three years in a row starting with Presley Roberson in 2007, then Paschal in 2008.
While all three of the players have diverse styles, Rogers said work ethic is their common link.
“Everyone of those girls that have been named player of the year has worked extremely hard to be a good player for Williamston High School,” Rogers said. “Just seeing where they came from and to see where they ended up, you can really see the hard work they put in to become good volleyball players.”
Rogers gets most from his players
Williamston mentor tabbed WDN Coach of the Year
By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
WILLIAMSTON — Over the past few season Williamston volleyball has been the standard for success in the area as the Tigers have routinely won conference titles and earned playoffs victories.
For the last three seasons a Williamston player has won Washington Daily News Player of the Year honors (Presley Roberson, Katie Paschal, Paschal and Heather Jackson, respectively) as the Tigers have been the team that other area squads measure themselves up to.
This year was no different.
Though Williamston did not win a conference title this, it did rack up a 19-4 record to finish in second place in a tough Four Rivers Conference and made it all the way to the third round of the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs.
While players come and go, Williamston’s seventh year coach Herbie Rogers has been a constant, and he is consistently one of the best coaches around.
This year was no different.
Roger’s spectacular sideline strategy, couple with his ability to develop talent has allowed him to produce another WDN Volleyball coach of the Year honor. For Rogers, it is his third in the last four years, which begs the question: What’s the big secret behind Williamston’s success.
Rogers said it all comes down to dedication.
“The secret is that I have had a bunch of girls come through here that are committed to being very good volleyball players,” Rogers said. “They spend a lot of time in the summer in the gym working out with weights and playing volleyball. The tradition of being good has helped me get girls to come into the program and work extremely hard and get to the high-level that we want to compete at.”
While he doesn’t have a secret to success, he does have a code that he follows.
“I definitely believe in the fundamentals of the game. I had a coach in high school that believed in that, and taught me that to be successful you have to be sound fundamentally,’ Rogers said. “From that I just really believe that you have to execute the fundamentals of the game. It’s something you have to work on all the time.”
Rogers, who coached football for 24 years, took over the Williamston program seven years ago when the school had a hard time finding anyone to fill the position. Rogers credits former volleyball coach Peggy Taylor for giving him a crash course in the sport and putting him on the path to success.
“When I started I really didn’t know a whole lot about it,” Rogers said. “Some of the staff over at East Carolina and Peggy really took me under their wing and helped me learn the game.”
Rogers now has a sound grip on volleyball and is doing a great job of relaying it to his players.
Tigers’ star setter Heather Jackson said Rogers has had a tremendous influence on her volleyball career.
“I have had Coach Rogers as a coach since rec league and he has basically taught me everything I know about volleyball,” WDN’s co-player of the year, Jackson said. “He’s good at pushing us in practice and really motivates us.. He teaches us a lot of skills and fundamental things.”
Fellow co-player of the year Katie Paschal said that Rogers has a great mind for volleyball. Paschal won the WDN Player of the Year award last season as a middle hitter, but this season she was asked to switch to outside hitter. It was a move that Paschal questioned, and with good reason. Why would any coach move a player from a position she had so much success at? However, Paschal conceded that Rogers was correct.
“He is a really good coach and knows exactly what he is talking about, even if I don’t like to hear it sometimes,” Paschal said. “At first I didn’t want to move there, but coach told me the advantages of being an outside hitter and I ended up liking it a lot more than being in the middle. … He is a really good coach and he expects a lot from us, and he motivates us to be the best we can be.”
Though Rogers and the Tigers will not have Jackson or Paschal on their roster next season, it’s a good bet that Williamston will still be right up there with the upper-echelon of the conference.
With Rogers on the bench, Williamston will always field a competitive team that always hustles, and usually always wins.