Former Monahans Players Net All-Star Berths
    Article by Chris Gove, Staff Writer ~~Odessa American, July 9, 2008
        Pictures by Gina William

Kaitlin Mitchell	Bailey Marcum

With just three practices in about 24 hours, the players in tonight's Texas girls coaches Association All-Star Volleyball matches certainly will have endured some hurried preparation.

The crash course might not be as bad, though for the West All-Stars in the Class 1A-3A match, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Grand Prairie High School.

Former Monahans teammates Kaitlin Mitchell and Bailey Marcum are on the squad, and Monahans coach Patty Dominguez is the West assistant coach to Kopperl's Trava Smith.

"It is awesome to have two," Dominguez said. "It's the first time in history that we've done it."

For a program that has made 14 trips to the state tournament, that is saying something.  Players on all-star teams in any sport at the annual TGCA Convention must be a recently graduated senior.

Marcum, a middle blocker who will play for UTPB, was a four-year varsity standout who played in three state tournaments for Monahans.

Mitchell, the starting setter for two seasons, is headed to play in Borger for Frank Phillips college, which finished fourth in the 2007 NJCAA National Tournament.

The familiarity on the West team doesn't lie only with the Monahans players.

They will be joined on the 12-player squad by five players who they faced in the 2007 playoffs -- Sweetwater's Tika Smith, Lubbock Cooper's Kimberli Harger, Borger's Layne Rusten, Canyon's Dana Stephenson and Wimberley's Lacy Lea.

"I've never really been in this kind of a situation before," Marcum said.  "We'll just see how it goes.  I'm sure we're all going to be real competitive and as a team we'll just go out and have fun."

Both Marcum and Mitchell have family ties to the TGCA All-Star Match. 

Marcum's older sister, Cassidee Avary, played in the 2000 event in the same Grand Prairie gym.

Mitchell's mother, Foydell, played in the 1977 TGCA All-Star Match before going on to coach the Lady Loboes in the 1980s.

"It's really just now hitting me," Kaitlin Mitchell said of playing tonight.  "We've known about this during school, but now you're only one of 12 girls to play, and it's quite an accomplishment."

The Class 4A-5A match is scheduled to follow at 7:30 p.m.

Midland High graduate Lindsey Stahl, an Odessa resident, and San Angelo Central's Stephanie Starnes are on the West roster.  The West team will be coached by Jan Barker, who has led Amarillo High to the last two Class 5A state titles.