News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
With just over a week left in the regular season, Stone Memorial Volleyball Coach Tori Permenter said she and the team have no interest in being runner-ups.
Permenter said that in her seven seasons as Stone’s head volleyball coach, she has four runner-up trophies. She said although the program lost seven starters last year, the 2024 team has the potential to breakthrough to a championship.
“I think that this group just has a lot to prove,” Permenter said. “And I think they’ve been doing it so far. I haven’t had a group in a while that just has something to prove. They want to prove those doubters wrong. They want to prove just how good they can be and I think they can do it.”
The Panthers are 15-12 overall, but hold a 7-1 region record that puts them atop their district. Permenter said that volleyball is a fun sport to coach due to the frequency of “upsets” and that recent losses have taught the team a lesson.
“I feel like our district is really tough,” Permenter said. “I feel like there’s good coaches in our district and good players. I feel like if you lose focus, you’ll lose on any night. So, I think that’s what the girls learned, is that you cannot lose focus not even for a second when we’re going into postseason play.”
Permenter said that the strength of the team is their work ethic and competitiveness. She said that every girl on her team comes to practice willing to learn and although she claims to be a competitive person, her team rivals her fiery spirit.
“I think these girls match my energy as far as they might be more competitive than I am,” Permenter said. “They want that win more than anything else. And when they lose, it hurts them. They really take losses to heart.”
This week, the Panthers face two district opponents in Dekalb County and Livingston Academy. Permenter labeled these games as “must wins” if they want to stay in first place of their district. She said this week would be a good opportunity to gain some momentum after a shaky last week.
“I would like to see some of our confidence get back up this week,” Permenter said. “We had a hard loss last week against Cumberland County and credit to them, I thought they played a really great game and are really well coached. But, I think getting our confidence back, not losing our focus, practices are really centered towards what is our strategy going into games.”
