Lakeside Volleyball, with five region titles in six years, is once again in title contention, driven by standout senior Blakely Johnson.
Facing injuries, a tougher schedule, and schools with more resources, Lakeside isn’t backing down. The Panthers are pushing harder to prove that talent and heart still matter in a changing landscape.
Johnson and the Panthers are currently 21-4-1 (4-0 in Region 1 North-AAAAA) after dropping a match 3-0 to the 7th-ranked River Bluff Gators out of Lexington, South Carolina.
Coach Scott Newland has always seen the potential in outside hitter Blakely Johnson.
“Her ninth-grade year, I put her on varsity even though she was raw, I saw the potential she had,” Newland said. “It has been amazing seeing her confidence grow the way it has.”
Johnson came into the Lakeside program in eighth grade with very little volleyball experience. She was immediately thrown on the court and has proved her skill ever since. Johnson was a first-team All-Region player last year and second-team her sophomore year.
She currently leads the Panthers in serving aces with 55 and kills with 247, which is over 100 more than the next leading player.
The game is changing
High school sports have undergone a transformation in recent years, particularly with the rise of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals and a growing trend of players transferring schools to chase better opportunities.
Newland has steered clear of changing his coaching ways to fit the new standard, instead, he lets the volleyball do the recruiting.
“Since we have had a good program in the past years, it has attracted multiple transfers,” Newland said.
Newland has seen the side effects of how the changes have benefited larger schools within the state.
“Every year we face those larger schools over near Atlanta, in the state tournament,” Newland said. “They have the power to choose who is in their program and who comes to their school.”
The good, the bad, the ugly
When it comes to high school sports, every program is going to have struggles, no matter how good the team appears. This year for the Panthers, it’s injuries.
One of the biggest of the season occurred recently against River Bluff. Senior outside hitter Lizzie Foster sustained a double-sprain and possible fracture in the match. Foster played in every set for the Panthers so far this season and will most likely miss the remainder of her senior season.
“You can’t replace a senior with that type of leadership,” Newland said. “As a whole, we are dinged up, so we are having to move people around to positions they aren’t as comfortable in.”
But injuries aren’t the only hurdle Lakeside has to clear. The lack of middle school volleyball in the Augusta area presents a long-term challenge for the program, limiting the development of young players before they reach high school.
“South Carolina and the Atlanta-area programs all have middle school volleyball,” Newland said. “It almost puts them a step ahead of us in terms of development.”
Tougher opposition coming
It is evident that the competition is not the greatest within the Augusta area. Newland has found it difficult to truly excel when it comes to making the change to state tournament opponents.
That’s why the coach has taken it upon himself to prepare his team for the stronger competition by creating a tough regular season schedule.
That includes some of the top teams in South Carolina, like River Bluff which is ranked as the No. 5 team in the state regardless of classification by Maxpreps. Powerhouse Georgia programs such as Brookwood and St. Vincent’s are there as well.
Locally, Richmond Academy is among the CSRA’s top programs. The Panthers handed them their only loss for the season back on August 27 in a 2-1 victory.
“If we want to succeed in the state tournament, we got to go play those teams early,” Newland said. “If you want to be the top team you have to beat the top teams.”
Looking ahead
As competition intensifies, Newland’s focus remains unchanged. His goal, as always, is to capture the region title and this year, he has his sights set on going even further.
“We want to advance as far as we can with the team we have,” Newland said. “If we are hot then we can easily make it deep in the tournament. Everybody knows those expectations when they come into the program.”
The Panthers do not have an easy latter half of the regular season as they are participating in a few tournaments in the metro Atlanta area.
They will face off against multiple highly ranked opponents — including two more dates with Richmond Academy in October — and will see region opponents multiple times before the end. For Newland, that means continuing to focus on helping his team perfect the fundamentals.
Despite their success, Newland still sees room for improvement in execution.
“We work every single day on serving aggressively and passing effectively, and it can always be better,” Newland said.
