KEYSTONE HEIGHTS - Keystone Heights High volleyball coach Miranda Knox had a stacked lineup last year with powerhitter Madison Heskett and Emily Loose manning the front lines, but 2020 will be looking for new weapons at the net. With Knox out for family and former Lady Indians standout Kaitlyn Cline tandeming up with Jessica Marquart to head the program, the Lady Indians will be looking for some mighty players to replace the duo.
Keystone Heights rolled into the district 3-4A championship tournament as the three seed with a good chance of making the final but stumbled against No. 2-Fernandina Beach in a thrilling 3-2 exit in a game that swayed back and forth for the entire contest before the Lady Indians succumbed 15-12 in the fifth game.
Heskett and Loose combined for an amazing 450 net points for Knox, but the numbers are slim after that with senior Ryan Taylor finishing with 75 kills.
Cline will look to Taylor and possible a combination of Eve Feldpausch, a junior and the team's top blocker, to get the points.
Feeding the front, freshman to sophomore Julieanna Padgett was right up with Loose and Heskett with 200-plus digs on defense for the trio. Padgett was top serve getter for the Indians with just 65 errors in nearly 500 gets.
Setter Kori Jennings was admirable as a freshman and will be the key player to find the new punch up front with her lobs. Loose led the Indians last year with 308 assists with Jennings at 221.