BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Lake Butler Middle School Volleyball Coach Robbie Best said when people ask him every year if he has a team capable of winning the Suwannee Middle Athletic Conference championship, he always says he doesn’t know.
It’s starting to appear as he could answer yes and have a great chance of being right as the Tigers recently captured their fourth straight SMAC title and their fifth championship in six years.
Lake Butler (24-4) defeated Fort White to advance to the title match and then beat Williston 2-1.
Best said he faces a challenge every year in replacing eighth-graders, so when people ask him if the Tigers will win the SMAC, he honestly doesn’t know until he sees how his current players perform and come together as a team.
“It’s still amazing to think that we’ve been very fortunate enough to continue to build and win ball games,” Best said, adding, “It’s always rebuilding. It’s always identifying those girls who can rise up and play on a championship level,”
Best said this year’s team probably had more inexperience than some of his past teams, noting that he had a couple of eighth-graders who were volleyball newcomers, though they were already athletes in other sports. Still, the Tigers suffered only one loss against a SMAC opponent, going 13-1 in conference play overall.
“Our volleyball IQ was not as high as maybe some of my previous teams,” Best said. “That deficit was probably a little bit more of a challenge, but the thing about it is, they still figured out how to get the job done.”
Best said the Tigers’ play sometimes resembled “schoolyard scrapping,” with players not always in the right place or exhibiting the proper form. However, that scrappiness led to players doing whatever they had to do to keep the ball in play at times, and it served them well in the SMAC title match against a team Best said matched up well with his.
“Not only did we have to match (Williston) on talent and ability, but we had to find a grit and the heart to be able to beat them,” Best said, adding, “My girls played with tremendous fire and tremendous passion.”
Lexi Crews and Bayley Staier were key veterans who had been major contributors in the past and exhibited great leadership this year, Best said, adding, “This year, both of them showed some tremendous on-court talent.”
Other players who’ve been with Best in the past included Bailee Austin, Alexia Cyr, Paisley Dugar, Courtney Manning, Bethany Phillips, Hayden Robinson, Morgan Smith and Madalynn Turknett. Best said Austin “did a great job growing into her role as an athlete and outside hitter,” while Cyr was important at the libero position and providing relief for players as a substitute.
Best gave kudos to Dugar, Manning and Staier for filling the role of setter — a position that’s so important, but sometimes doesn’t receive the glory that goes to the players doing the attacking.
“If it wasn’t for those girls, there would be no kudos for those other girls,” Best said. He also said of Manning, “She’s one of our younger players, so she grew into that role. She’ll be one of my veterans coming back. I’m looking for some key leadership from her next year.”
Phillips has height and talent, Best said, adding, “She’s got all the tools to be a very, very good volleyball player. She’s got some work to do, but I saw some really good things out of her.”
When speaking about Turknett, Best said, “By the end of the season, I saw where Madalynn had kind of turned the corner. A lot of it was confidence — just having the confidence to believe she can play the game and that she can do it well.”
Best said Smith played some of the best volleyball he’s ever witnessed from a seventh-grader.
“From last year to this year, she has grown in her knowledge and her ability to play the game,” Best said. “The intensity that she plays with — it’s just fun. It’s exciting to watch.”
Robinson brings a limitless supply of energy to the team. In talking of her importance, Best said, “That overwhelming energy she has became an asset for her. She didn’t mind getting after the ball and hustling.” He added, “You’ve got to have a sparkplug that fires up your team. She was that for us.”
Eighth-graders who were playing the sport for the first time included Carmyn Barringer and Emma Handley. Best said Barringer possessed the height and the athletic ability to be a factor, while Handley played well in the back row.
Best said Brooke Hunt was another player who wound up playing a lot with his program’s younger players, but she was still able to become a contributor to this year’s success.
“All three of these girls in particular had to learn two of the basic fundamentals,” Best said of Barringer, Handley and Hunt. “They had to learn to serve and pass. That was a learning curve for them, but they did that because they had the athletic ability to adapt to that.”
Ella Griffis was one of his younger players, but she brought to the team a lot of volleyball knowledge and skills, Best said. Griffis is the daughter of Assistant Coach Angela Griffis, who played collegiately.
“Ella came in and did a great job growing into her position of outside hitter and growing into her ability to attack the ball and serve the ball,” Best said. “She was a great contributor and did a great job developing for us as a player.”
Best also singled out managers Gracelynn McGee, Grace Turknett and Ivy Wilson — girls he wanted to be part of the team because they possess the characteristics he’s looking for from players.
“I wanted to keep them involved because next year, they’ll move into whole new roles,” Best said. “They’ll be those girls who’ll now start working toward hopefully being my next championship team.”
A SMAC championship usually results in a change to Best’s appearance. Last year’s team shaved his beard off during a pep rally.
“Did I make a deal this year? Yeah,” Best said. “I don’t know when, but I’ve already got the hair dye. They get to color and style my hair and beard.”
Will the players on the 2023 team get the chance to change their coach’s appearance? Best can’t tell you that, but if recent history is any indication, there’s a good chance it’ll happen.
