Bell City's Long turns defense into offense

BELL CITY -- Senior Sherilyn Long has played just about everywhere.

She has been moved from libero to outside hitter back to libero over the past two seasons.

Back on her junior high school team, when she was a seventh-grader, Long won the offensive player award as a star middle hitter.

"We always make fun of her for it," senior setter Codie Lancaster said. "Our libero, she got the offensive award. But she's been really versatile."

It doesn't seem to matter where Long plays. She goes where her team needs her. And wherever she is, she still helps the offense.

"They moved me back to libero because we can't have offense if we don't have defense," Long said.

Long has provided some needed defense for the Cubs this season. And her strong defense has helped her team run its quick offense. Since returning to libero, she has worked on reading hitters better and making quality passes to Lancaster.

Long is leading the team with 647 digs, including 32 in the district title game against Bernie, 15 digs in a sweep of Bismarck in the sectional round and 21 digs while sweeping favored Leopold in the quarterfinals.

Long again will need to do a good job of anchoring the back row at the state tournament this weekend when Bell City competes against Eminence, Sacred Heart and Santa Fe in the Class 1 final four Friday and Saturday at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

"She's always had that natural instinct for volleyball," Bell City coach Erin Hoffman said. "It has just become stronger and stronger over the past couple of years."

Long was moved to outside hitter during the middle of last year and she started this year on the outside because her team was lacking at the position. But she moved back to libero during this season because the defense needed a boost.

Hoffman said Long, who also leads the team with 55 service aces, is a logical choice at libero because the libero is able to serve and no longer is considered a substitute.

"I just need her in the back row," Hoffman said. "That's how good she is back there. ... The libero position, where they can play all the way around, and serve, and not play one position, I knew I needed to have her back there all the time."

Long has the ability to dig balls, make crisp passes to Lancaster and set the offense in motion with her strong defensive play.

Long typically sends passes in the vicinity of Lancaster, who has 744 assists. Lancaster, in turn, usually passes to hard-hitting freshman hitter Jasmine Johnson, who has 398 kills. The process has worked for the Cubs throughout the playoffs.

"It just helps us to be able to run our quick offense when we have a good passer like that," Hoffman said about Long. "We talk about how the perfect scenario is Sherilyn pass, Codie set and Jasmine hit. ... When we have that combo, it works every time."

Lancaster said that with Long in the back row, she seldom has to chase after or dive for balls. Instead she can stand back to wait for strong passes and get ready to set.

"As long as I get to my spot, she passes them right there," Lancaster said.

Long said she knows her team trusts her to help make the offense's job easier.

"They feel better when I'm back there," she said. "They know I'm going to get the ball up somehow. It's not always perfect. It's consistent."

Lancaster also said she still sets Long, who as an outside hitter did not hit hard but was able to place the ball with accuracy.

"I guess it's good that she started out as a hitter," Lancaster said. "I set her like four, five, six times, probably more than that in a game. I always set her back row."

Senior Mallory Dockins said Long has worked on reading opposing hitters by watching their arm swings.

"She has just learned where to go with the hit and where their arm is going," Dockins said.

Long wants to play volleyball in college and likely would be a libero, she said.

She was a member of the junior varsity team when Bell City went to state in 2005 and 2006. But Hoffman promoted her to varsity both years, and Long received some playing time in the back row when she was a sophomore.

She said reading hitters at state likely would be more difficult than reading local hitters who she's seen more often.

"There will be a big difference," Long said. "Against Leopold, I know the general area that they are going to hit. Not only do I read them, but I already have their ideas. I'm there. I don't dive very much because I'm usually just there. But when we go up to state, it's going to have to be purely instinct."

Hoffman and Lancaster expect Long to make quick adjustments and play strong defense to help jump-start the Cubs' quick offense.

"It might take four or five points for her to see how the hitters hit," Long said. "Once she reads somebody, she's pretty much got them."