Fort Mill High tied for the conference championship in volleyball and advanced to the state tournament last year, before losing in the first round. This season, first-year head coach Melanie Jaehnen is hoping to return the Yellow Jackets to a top spot in the conference.

Jaehnen, who coached Fort Mill's JV team for the past five seasons, inherits a team in transition. The Yellow Jackets lost nine seniors and have no returning starters from last year's co-championship team, but have reasons to think this year could be as successful as last season.

Fort Mill played well early in scrimmages and Jaehnen believes the Lady Jackets should be competitive in the league again this year despite some inexperience.

"I was able to see a lot of different things from a lot of different girls," Jaehnen said about the early-season scrimmages. "The girls have been working really hard so far and I expect them to do well in conference play."

Although Jaehnen expects Corinne Jones, an outside hitter, and Jessie Ellingsen, a defensive specialist, to lead the Yellow Jackets' attack, she is hopeful they can form into a cohesive unit.

"My biggest belief is that you win and lose as a team," Jaehnen said. "It takes the whole team to work together to meet our expectations. I expect us to go out there and be competitive this season."

Fort Mill will face strong challenges from Gaffney and Nation Ford in the conference. York, Clover and Northwestern will also challenge for the conference title, but the Yellow Jackets plan to fight for the top spot.

Early on in practices, the Yellow Jackets have been focusing on ball control and coming together as a team. They have been changing their lineup in the preseason to try to find effective combinations.

The girls seem to be determined to have a good year as many started workouts early in the summer. Jaehnen is hopeful her untested team can improve throughout the season and make a run to compete for the league title.

Fort Mill will have a tough test to open its 2008 regular season. The Jackets open at home tonight against North Mecklenburg, which finished in the top eight in North Carolina last season. Jaehnen feels that they are ready.

"Our morale is great," Jaehnen said. "The girls are ready to start playing. They have been ready since we had our first practice. I think we are going to get better as the year progresses. I look forward to starting regular season games."

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