JV Brings home some Hardware

Long past overdue....Going 4-2 on Saturday at the Sequoyah Tournament, the JV brings home a 3rd place finish over a field of 16. We are proud of all of their accomplishments throughout the season and wish them the best as they finish up their season at the Blessed Trinity Invitational. Good Luck and bring home another trophy!

prepvolleyball

AAA is a different place this year. Gone are Westminster and Blessed Trinity, who both moved to AA. Woodward Academy and St. Pius arrive from AAAA, and they look to be two of the top teams in AAA this year.

That road may very well lead through St. Pius , which made the AAAA semifinals last fall. Coach John Frederick returns for his 8th season after earning Dekalb County Coach of the Year honors last season. His squad will be paced by senior Hannah Sprague , a smart setter who runs a balanced offense. Senior OH Michelle Barnes and her quick arm snap will be one of the keys for the team. The Golden Lions also get a big boost from the return of standout senior outside hitter Ellen Marsau , who was sidelined last season with a knee injury. Ellen and Michelle are both leaders… while recovering from her knee injury Ellen coached the A5 13-2 team and took them to nationals in Dallas, and Michelle coached the 13-1 club team at Tsunami. Emily Schultz is an underrated middle but she will cause match-up problems for many teams – Shultz can flat-out put the ball down, and runs slides and quick sets with equal skill. Junior outside hitter Ellie Morrison is also expected to make an important contribution. Look for St. Pius to be one of the last teams standing in early November.

St. Pius bounces to top of coaches poll
Tyler Goforth/Staff

Ellie Morrison of St. Pius X returns a Westminster serve as teammates Ellen Marsau and Abby Genrich look on during their match against the Atlanta school last week.

By Greg Rossino
Football is not the only sport off to a hot start at St. Pius X High School.

The volleyball team, which had a record of 15-2 last week, was named the No. 1 team in Class 3A in the GaSports.com/GACA Coaches Poll.

So far this season, the top two spots have been occupied by St. Pius and Woodward Academy. However, after Woodward suffered a few losses to out of state teams, St. Pius moved ahead.

Head coach John Frederick said that while he was happy with the new poll, it is still a tossup between the two schools.

“It was a nice surprise for sure, but it still a coin flip between us and Woodward. They are a really good team. Hopefully, we can play up to the No. 1 ranking,” Frederick said.

Frederick said that, so far, the team has played up to its potential this season.

“We have played pretty well so far, and I think our record shows that,” he said.

“We have shown that we can be very strong in some places and inconsistent in others,” Frederick said.

He said the team could improve in such areas as blocking, movement around the ball, better positioning and aggressiveness.

Despite the few things his team can improve upon, Frederick said he believes his team is a lock for the state playoffs.

“We play in an area that has a lot of new programs in it. Each of those schools will be good eventually, but right now, the area is pretty weak and because of that I think we will be able to qualify for state pretty easily.”

Even with the “weak area” St. Pius has shown that they belong with the state’s elite.

Already this season, the Golden Lions have faced seven state ranked teams, going 6-1.

Its only loss came to Pope, who at the time was ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, earlier in the season.

“Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win the state championship and I believe we will be able to accomplish that goal,” Frederick said.

St. Pius’ next couple of games will be at Lovett on Sept. 12 and 13 as the school takes part in the Lovett Block Party Invitational.

St. Pius gets boost with Marsau’s return
Tyler Goforth/Staff

Ellen Marsau

By Greg Rossino
After missing all of her junior year thanks to an ACL injury she suffered during training camp, Ellen Marsau is ready to lead St. Pius X to a state championship in 2008.

The senior outside hitter led the Golden Lions in aces and kills in 2006, her sophomore year.

Marsau, who has been playing volleyball since she was in the sixth grade, said it is much more than a sport to her.

“Volleyball is a lifestyle for me,” she said.

“Because of volleyball I have made some great relationships with the girls on the team as well as developed into a better person. It has been a great experience for me,” Marsau said.

This season will mark Marsau’s fourth year on the varsity squad. Her head coach, John Frederick, said he expects big things from his senior captain.

“She is a difference maker for this team. If something needs to be done on the court, I know I can count on her to get the job done,” he said.

“She makes my job easier because she is a coach on the court. She is very talented and has a great volleyball IQ.”

Marsau said, “I love the sport and I love my teammates.

“It is a privilege to be one of the team captains and I plan on doing everything I can to help the team win.”

August 26, 2008

Two more victories against strong competition for the Golden Lions.  The team defeated Landmark Christian two games to none, with Abby Genrich and Kayte Brinkman digging up the state's hardest hitter like they were swatting away flies.  8 kills for Michele Barnes led the offensive attack.  In the night cap the team dispatched defending state AAAA champion McIntosh in two straight games to complete the sweep of the night.  Five kills for Laura Brazell as well as effective middle play out of Emily Schultz, Alex Bidgood and Emily Cain helped out in a balanced attack.  Ellie Morrison had a carrer high 10 digs in the second game to aid another strong defensive effort.  The team starts a string of eight straight home matches next week so come out and support the Golden Lions, who now stand at 13-1 and ranked 2nd in AAA.

aUGUST 23, 2008

The Golden Lions raised their season record to 11-1 with a perfect weekend at the Heritage Play For A Cure event for Breast Cancer Awareness.  In the opener, Jonesboro came in expecting to avenge last years season ending loss to St. Pius X.  It was a short lived dream as the Lions dispatched Jonesboro quickly, 25-8, 25-15.  It was a balanced whole team effort led by the serving of Brandi Tyson and constant agressive hitting by all involved.  In match two Rockdale County was dispatched in two sets, led by five kills each by Ellie Morrison and Michele Barnes.  Match three saw the team face a scrappy Eagle's Landing Christian Academy squad.  The Lions took care of business in two hard fought games.  They were led by three aces from Ellie Morrison, six digs by Abby Genrich and 13 assists for Hannah Sprague.  Former region nemesis Chamblee fell next to the onslaught.  Ellen Marsau had 5 aces and 3 kills to lead the Golden Lions to the victory.  The toughest match of the day was Providence Christian who jumped out to a 13-0 lead in set 1 before St. Pius mounted a comeback to tie it at 22.  Providence held on to win the set, but were no match for the Lady Lions in the last two set.  Ellen Marsau took over the match with 13 kills and 6 aces.  In the night cap the team played host Heritage who the quickly defeated in two games.  4 kills each by Michele Barnes and Ellen Marsau led the effort.  Michele Barnes finished the day hitting .393 and Ellen Marsau's 27 kills, 14 aces and 19 digs all led the team.

august 16, 2008

The Golden Lions finished the 40 team Sequoyah Invitational tournament with a 5th place effort.  The team fell in the quarterfinals to eventual tournament champion Pope.  The team opened the day with a domination of Campbell in two games.  Freshman Alex Bidgood led the team in kills and newcomer Kayte Brinkman used her jump float serve to pick up 6 aces to lead the team to the victory.  The second day of the match saw the team facing a highly motivated NW Whitfield team currently ranked 7th in AAAA.  The Lions held them off with two very close come from behind victories.  Ellen Marsau had 13 kills and hit 65% for the match including taking over down the stretch.  Hannah Sprague added a season high 33 assists in the match.  The team finished pool play in the tournament 4-0 and went on to face #5 (AAAAA) ranked Milton in the first round.  The Eagles were no match for the Golden Lions constant pressure.  Emily Cain's jump serve took control of the first game. In the match Cain and Brandi Tyson combined for 7 aces.  In addition, 4 different players had at least 4 kills in a balanced team effort.  That brought on Pope, who took out the Lions despite an outstanding offensive match at the net by Junior Emily Schultz.  Schultz had 6 kills and hit 60% for the final.  The team is next in action with their home opener Tuesday vs Carver and Washington.

august 15, 2008

St. Pius X kicked off a very promising 2008 season with a comeback victory over Kennesaw Mountain, the #2 ranked team in AAAAA.  The team won the third game 26-24 after fending off match point for the Mustangs.  Team leading 5 aces and 17 digs as well as 7 kills for Ellen Marsau, in her first match back from having missed the entire 2007 campaign with ACL surgery, led the effort.  Michele Barnes added 9 kills for the Golden Lions.  In the night cap 14 assists for Hannah Sprague and 4 kills and 5 digs for the setter paced the Lions.  Laura Brazell had a strong match picking up 5 kills as the team beat Roswell two games to one.

JULY 29, 2008

The American Volleyball Coaches Association has named this years recipients of the AVCA Team Academic Award.  This award is given to collegiate and high school teams whose cumulative GPA exceeds 3.30 on a 4 point scale.  St. Pius X has received the award for the third time in the past 4 years.  This is an outstanding affirmation of our young ladies both on and off the court that they can maintain such high standards of both academic and athletic excellence.  This award was matched by only two other schools in Georgia, Harrison High School and Darlington.  For the complete list check out the AVCA web-site.

DECEMBER 2007

Congratulations to Michele Barnes and Hannah Sprague who were named Co-DeKalb County Player of the Year by the DeKalb Neighbor.  Also named to the all county team was Senior Kylee Marx Booth.  In addition, Kylee was named to the state senior all-star game as one of the top 24 seniors in the state.  Named as honorable mention for the all county team were outside hitter Lia Scott (who was also named Co Player of the Year for area 6AAAA), middle hitter Alaina Smith, libero Christina Ceniza and Kristi Oltman.  Named as the county coach of the year for the second time was Coach John Frederick.

Former St. Pius X Players in College Volleyball

Lia Scott - UNC Ashville '08

Alaina Smith - Converse College '08

Jennifer Angelich - Belmont Abbey '07-'08

Laura Beamer - Georgia State '07

Amanda Mahoney - West Georgia '02

Christine Iraggi - Auburn Univ '00-'01

Deshea Beamer - Loyola Univ '00-'03