By Rubin E. Grant
Andie Freedman had little time to prepare for her first season as the Homewood Patriots’ volleyball coach last year.
She wasn’t hired until July, barely a month before the 2020 season started. But this year, as she embarks on her second season, she has a firm grasp on the program.
“It’s like night and day,” Freedman said. “I’ve had an offseason to work with them and a summer. I got to make out the schedule and I tried to schedule the best competition to help us improve throughout the season and continue to grow.
“The girls have worked hard and not just the seniors. I get real excited about where we are. We had a real good offseason. We played in a ton of tournaments and in a power league. It let our younger kids play against stronger competition.”
Despite her lack of preparation last year, Freedman led Homewood to the Class 6A Sweet 16 before getting eliminated by eventual runner-up Hartselle and finishing with a 30-18 record.
Most of the top players from that team return, earning the Patriots the No. 1 ranking in Class 6A in the AL.com preseason poll.
“Last year, the strength of our team were juniors. Now, they’re seniors with an extra year of experience,” Freedman said. “We’ve got five seniors and all five have the ability to play in college.”
The Patriots have a strong front row, featuring 6-foot senior outside hitter Olivia Brown and senior right side hitter Mackenzie Yoakum. Brown had 369 kills, 325 digs, 46 blocks and 31 aces last season.
“Olivia is a dominant player who has gotten a lot of interest from colleges,” Freedman said. “Mackenzie Yoakum is being recruited by a number of schools.”
Senior Lilly Janas is a defensive specialist, senior Haley Callaham anchors the defense and senior Olivia Outman is a talented setter.
“She had a good summer playing on a travel team coached by Haven O’Quinn, the coach at Birmingham-Southern,” Freedman said of Outman. “She has really grown as a player.
“This is a talented group of seniors who also provide leadership. They lead by example and a product of that is great team chemistry.”
The Patriots also have a talented junior class.
“Sydney Humes is a great defensive player as a defensive specialist and libero,” Freedman said. “Shawnise Gregory is the first middle. She’s a competitive golfer. She has improved a lot and is a lot more powerful. Mary Przybysz is a setter and hitter. She’s such a good all-round player who can fill whatever role we need. She has more experience setting, but she’s also capable of hitting on the opposite side.”
Two other juniors are Mary Larkin Mullins and Kaylin Rezek.
“We also have two sophomores, Grace Brown, Olivia’s little sister who also has a 26-inch vertical jump, and Carson Jarmon,” Freedman said.
The Patriots opened the season last Thursday with a 3-0 sweep at home against John Carroll Catholic, 25-21, 25-13, 25-14. Olivia Brown had 15 kills and Yoakum added six. Gregory had four kills and three blocks and Outman tallied 22 assists, two blocks and one kill.
The Patriots then went 5-1 in the 39th Juanita Boddie Invitational, losing to Bayside Academy in the quarterfinals to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place last weekend at the Finley Center in Hoover.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Freedman said. “We feel pretty good, but now we have a target on our back. We’re in a tough area with Mountain Brook, Chelsea and Briarwood. Every team in our area is very competitive. It’s going to be a challenge for us. It’s unfortunate that only two of us make it out.
“We’re taking everything one step at a time. We’re going to stay focused, humble and hungry. We’re going to practice to the best of our ability and play to the best of our ability. If we do that, the outcome will take care of itself. We just want to compete every time we step on the court.”
