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Serving up success

Jackie Butler has established herself as a leader on Hernando Christian's volleyball team, helping it upset powerful Central.

By DEREK J. LaRIVIERE, Times Correspondent
Published January 4, 2008

Jackie Butler is captain of the Hernando Christian High School volleyball team. She also plays for the Club Hernando AAU team.
	[David Degner | Times]

As a captain on the Hernando Christian volleyball team, Jackie Butler has shown vast improvement over the course of her prep career. Much of that success can be attributed to her dedication and work with Club Hernando coach Dena Frye and Lions coach Sue Murphy along the way.

Now a junior, Butler has been a key member of the Lions' high school program for the past five seasons. With Sue Murphy coaching, Butler has played significant minutes since she was in seventh grade.

"Sue Murphy is a tremendous coach," Frye said. "When I first saw Jackie, I knew that was where she got much of her skill on the court."

Since joining Frye, a former Hernando coach, and her Club Hernando AAU team two years ago, Butler has seen her play escalate. This past high school season, her improvement was no more evident than in a season-defining victory for the Lions.

HCA, a Class A program, scheduled regular county powerhouse Central. To almost everyone's surprise, the Lions toppled the Bears in five sets thanks in large part to the play of Butler. The middle hitter paced the squad with a match-high 11 kills.

"It's great to see us gain some attention by playing the bigger schools," Butler said. "It's difficult to get attention sometimes playing for a little private school, but every once in a while you work hard and it all comes together."

In the end, the team only finished 12-8, falling to St. John Lutheran in the Class A, District 3 tournament. Butler concluded the season as the program's leader in both total kills and service points.

Even with all of this past success, Butler has one more year ahead of her in an attempt to achieve her ultimate goal - a scholarship to play collegiate volleyball. There are two major components to the 16-year-old's plan of attack.

First, she feels that it is instrumental for her to continue to work hard with Hernando coach and current 17 & under AAU coach Kristie Charlow. Charlow, known for her peer-like coaching style, allows her players the freedom to identify their own flaws and improve from there.

The next thing that Butler is looking forward to is this summer's Clearwater Christian College Volleyball Camp. The annual camp is operated by the school's coaching staff and runs for two weeks. During those two weeks, the attending players stay on campus.

"Working with Clearwater Christian coach (Vickie) Denny was some of the most fun I've had," Butler said. "I decided very early that I wanted to go to the camp this year."

Last season, Butler and her HCA teammates were schooled in a small seminar by the Clearwater Christian staff. After the experience, Butler was more invigorated with the sport than she had ever been before. She and teammate Danielle Kuka were so impressed that both signed up for the camp this summer.

With only one season remaining in her prep career, Butler sees this off-season as the most important since she began focusing on the sport in middle school. Because of the tournament schedule of Club Hernando, scouts in Bradenton, Orlando and Cocoa Beach will be among the many who see what she can do.

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[Last modified January 3, 2008, 19:52:40]