Athens Academy’s volleyball team isn’t afraid to admit that it’s a little bit undersized.
There’s no 6-footers on the front line that can go up and dominate the net with their hitting and blocking.
Yet, somehow the Lady Spartans are still one of the best Class A teams in the state as they begin the playoffs today.
Lady Spartans’ head coach Jane Thomas attributes the teams’ success to smart play; knowing the game well and knowing where to be on the court. Malia Busenitz might be the most astute of the bunch.
Busenitz, a junior outside hitter, seems to be in the right spot at the right time for the Lady Spartans.
“She’s smart and she knows her shots,” Thomas said. “She can really see the court, and when you’re not the tallest kid out there, you have to use some of [your smarts] too.”
Perhaps no better evidence of her awareness and athletic ability was her performance in Saturday’s Area 8-A championship victory over Hebron Christian.
Busenitz led the Lady Spartans with 19 kills while hitting .407 (determined by number of kills minus errors, divided by attacks).
She also recorded a team-best 26 digs, a stat not often led by a team’s outside hitter.
“I try to just hit smart shots,” Busenitz said. “I like defense more than offense. Obviously offense is fun, but with my height and my training in the past, I’m sort of more geared toward defense; so it’s a lot of fun.”
For the season, Busenitz leads the Lady Spartans with 367 kills while boasting a .536 attack percentage.
Her 376 digs is second on the team, only behind team libero/defensive specialist Ali Garrett’s 464. For her peformance in the Area 8-A tournament, and for the entire season, Busenitz is this week’s Ellis Pain Center/Oconee Enterprise Athlete of the Week.
“Malia does it all for us,” Thomas said. “Defensively and offensively we have relied on her so much. She is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen. She leaves it all on the court.”
Busenitz has played volleyball since 10, playing club for the Georgia Juniors. Volleyball is her passion, as she plays year-round.
“I think it’s so much fun,” Busenitz said. “I love volleyball.”
The Ellis Pain Center/Oconee Enterprise Athlete of the Week is chosen by the sports staff of The Oconee Enterprise. Local coaches are welcome to email their nominations tosportseditor@oconeeenter-prise.com by Monday at 10 a.m. Ellis Pain Center can be reached at www.ellispain.com.
