Hatboro-Horsham's Sam Jones surpassed the 1,000-kill mark this season.
By Mary Jane Souder
Sam Jones is one remarkably versatile athlete.
The Hatboro-Horsham senior will be playing libero at the Division One level next year at Kent State University, the recipient of a full scholarship.
In the meantime, Jones had some fun playing outside hitter for her high school squad. She didn’t just have fun playing a secondary position, Jones put her name in the record books as the program’s most prolific hitter, eclipsing the 1,000-kill mark in the Hatters’ 3-1 opening round District One AAA win over Mount Saint Joseph Academy.
“Sam is a huge risk taker, which separates the cream of the crop,” coach Kathy Tanner said. “As a coach, you always want to tell your players to take risks if they want to get better, but it’s more believable for her teammates when they see it live, and Sam Jones models that so well.
“Those who are blocking and defending her never know how to set up properly because they don’t know if she will be attacking line, hitting a hard cross to four, dropping a roll shot in the middle, tipping, shooting a deep corner or even hitting the ball lefty.
“Sam has more options than anyone I know and uses them wisely. She values placement as much as power. Out of her 421 kills this year, I can safely say that 30 of them were lefty. Her left swing is better than an average hitter’s right swing.”
Jones is the first volleyball player in Hatter history to reach that milestone.
“I really wanted to start something, so our underclassmen has something to look forward to, knowing they could do the same,” Jones said.
The historic kill – with a set from Allison Laucella - came in the third set for a point that put the Hatters on top 16-12. Jones flashed a smile and was mobbed by her teammates.
“I was so happy,” she said. “For me, a libero – I never thought I’d be here. I’m a defense person.”
Enjoying the moment almost as much as Jones was senior setter Candyce Riley, who has had a hand in the majority of the outside hitter’s kills this season.
“She brings so much energy,” Riley said. “Even off the court when we have talks – we have a team meeting before each game, and she brings so much positive energy, and she’s like that on the court.
“It’s been such an amazing season, being able to set her and being a part of assisting her thousand kills. I’m so proud of her. I couldn’t be happier for her.”
Both Riley and Jones have willingly given up their primary positions for the good of the team. Riley – who will also be playing libero at the collegiate level – made the move to setter this season.
“I know that Sam would attribute a lot of her success to her teammates, especially Candyce Riley,” coach Kathy Tanner said. “Candyce and Sam have been playing varsity together for four years now, and they have great respect for one another.
“It’s much easier to respect a player when you have been in their shoes, and the two club liberos now play setter and outside hitter because that was the best formula this year for the Hatters. When you have great athletes, they can usually take on any task.”
Jones found out a week earlier she was approaching the elusive milestone.
“It wasn’t even a goal, but then it was like, ‘Wait, maybe I can do it,’” she said. “Last week, I needed 46, and then I got it down to 19.”
The Hatters’ standout hitter finished her record-breaking night with 34 kills.
“I was really happy that Sam was able to achieve her career benchmark because that’s a big number,” Tanner said. “Our team has grown from her experience because she helps her teammates when she can, giving specific direction to them when she identifies room for improvement.
“She’ll stay after varsity practice and offer individual feedback to the jayvee players. Her natural tendencies to help others will allow her to become a very successful coach one day if she chooses that path.”
Jones has been playing volleyball since she was nine years old, and it almost immediately trumped the other sports she’d tried along the way – gymnastics, swimming and soccer.
She wasted no time before joining the club circuit, and in 2009, Jones began playing grass and sand doubles. Volleyball became a year-round commitment to the senior standout.
“My life is volleyball,” she said. “Summer weekends, I go to the beach and play volleyball, train on the sand during the week.
“Hitting was never really my thing, but I kind of learned how to playing a lot of grass and sand.”
Making the accomplishment even more impressive is the fact that Jones basically did it in three years.
“I set my freshman year, so I only had 30 kills my freshman year,” she said. “I didn’t even get four years to be a hitter.”
Jones has her sights set on one day playing on the professional beach volleyball circuit.
“Sam plays more volleyball than anyone I know,” Tanner said. “When people say follow your passion, that’s what she does to a point where I worry about injury, overuse and burnout. She plays all the time because she simply loves the sport.
“She’s the smartest player I know, and that’s because she takes what she learns from beach and grass and applies it to indoor.”
It’s a formula that has taken Jones to unprecedented heights.
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