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Paige Clinton set up hundreds of hitting opportunities for Jessica Garrett the past four seasons while playing for the Prairie View volleyball team. Garrett swatted many of them home with authority for kills. The two Buffalo seniors now have the opportunity to provide that lethal combination at the next level, after they both signed letters of intent Friday to play volleyball at Fort Scott Community College. 
Playing together at the collegiate level has been a shared goal for Clinton and Garrett. Both went to Fort Scott on Nov. 17 for their try-outs and came away not only with a good impression of the program, but knowing they would be playing on the same Greyhounds’ team for the next two seasons.
“There were three of us who always talked about how we wanted to play together,” Clinton said. “Me and Jessica both had that Saturday (Nov. 17) open, so we both tried out, and once we read that we could play together, we were like,’Oh, yes, we have to play together.’”
The warm, family atmosphere is what won over Clinton when mingling with the current Fort Scott players during her try-out.
“Whenever I went and tried out there, the girls returning were very happy and joking around with us,” she said. “I’ve tried it out at different schools, and every single time, it was like they were there to judge you instead of getting along with you.”
Garrett expressed similar sentiments.
“The teammates there knew what they were doing, and if you were struggling, then they’re willing to help you out,” Garrett said. “They weren’t going to put you down. They were just open to everybody.”
Clinton figures to immerse herself immediately as the Greyhounds’ setter. Out of the six returners Fort Scott has coming back for the 2010 season, none were setters. While Clinton will be just a freshman next fall, she appears to be a perfect fit in running the offense for the Greyhounds.
“We needed to fill that role with a talented athlete, somebody that’s going to be able to lead these girls on the court,” Fort Scott coach Sonya Petroski said. “From what I saw out of Paige, she really exhibited everything we were looking for in that setter’s position.”
Clinton will have a familiar face to set up hitting opportunities at the middle hitter position in Garrett.
Garrett’s 6-foot, 1-inch height and versatility caught Petroski’s eye. Petroski plans to move one of her returning middle hitters to outside hitter and have Garrett play at middle hitter to make for an even more dangerous offensive attack.
“When I saw Jessica, I think she’s what we’re looking for,” Petroski said. “She is very versatile. She can play the outside (hitter) position and the middle, and that’s the type of athlete we’re looking for, somebody that can step in and play different roles. She can really move around on the court, she can play good defense, she can play the back row. I’m really excited to have an athlete like her on our team.”
Fort Scott labored through some growing pains in Petroski’s first season at the helm in finishing 9-21 overall and 10th place in the ultra-competitive Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. It was a squad which carried 10 freshmen and only two sophomores.
“We were an extremely young team,” Petroski said. “With that core group, it’s going to help us out a lot, and I think it’s going to help us get a better record than we had last year. Last year was a very productive season and we are looking for freshmen like them (Clinton and Garrett) to come in and make it an extremely great season, because we’re looking to go far.”
Garrett is just happy to continue playing volleyball with Clinton.
“It’s good because she knows how I like the ball to be set,” Garrett said.
Clinton plans to major in nursing, while Garrett is undecided, although she plans to pursue a career path which leads to a career similar to a veterinarian.
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