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Lady Tigers finish strong in state tournament
Nov 20, 2003 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
Breaking records in nearly every game of the season, this year’s girls volleyball team leaves a legacy that will be hard to beat by future teams. “This was a season that put Darlington volleyball on the state map and hopefully we can keep it there,” Head Coach Jim Linos said in a Rome News-Tribune news article.
Some of the team’s accomplishments are a 28-match winning streak to start the season, Area 6-AA/A regular season and tournament titles, and a school record for wins that almost doubles the previous mark of 21. Anja Knabe-Paulsen finished a stellar senior season with 31 kills, nine aces, and eight digs. At the Class AA/A Elite Eight at Holy Innocents’, Alex Wysocki, senior, dished out 33 assists and added eight digs, four kills, and two aces, while Meggin Roberts, senior, tossed in 12 digs, and Laura Bennett, senior, chipped in three kills and a block.
Despite their great efforts, however, the team only went 1-2 and finished in a tie for fifth in the Class AA/A Elite Eight Tournament. “I love this team and the high points we had outshine the low points by a thousand times or more,” Linos said. The team finished 35-3 and first in Area 6 AA/A for the regular season, and first again in the Area 6 AA/A Tournament. Over the entire season, the Lady Tigers were 41-6.
In the process of a fantastic season, the team beat individual and team state records, including six individual and two team state records. They beat school records galore as well: five individual (match), nine individual (season), 15 individual (career), six team (match), 12 team (season).
The Rome News-Tribune noted that the Lady Tigers have come a long way in Linos’ four years as Darlington’s head volleyball coach. “This program was nothing when we came in with coach Linos,” Wysocki said in the article. “Coach Linos has built from the ground up, starting with the Middle School team through the junior varsity and on up to us. He’s given a lot to this team and we owe him so much.”
Linos helped lead Darlington to an Elite Eight berth in 2000, but the Lady Tigers didn’t get past the area tournament in 2001 and 2002. This year, Linos feels like his team proved a point.
Some of the team’s accomplishments are a 28-match winning streak to start the season, Area 6-AA/A regular season and tournament titles, and a school record for wins that almost doubles the previous mark of 21. Anja Knabe-Paulsen finished a stellar senior season with 31 kills, nine aces, and eight digs. At the Class AA/A Elite Eight at Holy Innocents’, Alex Wysocki, senior, dished out 33 assists and added eight digs, four kills, and two aces, while Meggin Roberts, senior, tossed in 12 digs, and Laura Bennett, senior, chipped in three kills and a block.
Despite their great efforts, however, the team only went 1-2 and finished in a tie for fifth in the Class AA/A Elite Eight Tournament. “I love this team and the high points we had outshine the low points by a thousand times or more,” Linos said. The team finished 35-3 and first in Area 6 AA/A for the regular season, and first again in the Area 6 AA/A Tournament. Over the entire season, the Lady Tigers were 41-6.
In the process of a fantastic season, the team beat individual and team state records, including six individual and two team state records. They beat school records galore as well: five individual (match), nine individual (season), 15 individual (career), six team (match), 12 team (season).
The Rome News-Tribune noted that the Lady Tigers have come a long way in Linos’ four years as Darlington’s head volleyball coach. “This program was nothing when we came in with coach Linos,” Wysocki said in the article. “Coach Linos has built from the ground up, starting with the Middle School team through the junior varsity and on up to us. He’s given a lot to this team and we owe him so much.”
Linos helped lead Darlington to an Elite Eight berth in 2000, but the Lady Tigers didn’t get past the area tournament in 2001 and 2002. This year, Linos feels like his team proved a point.
