Topic: BOGACZYK: Lemons, Conley Bring AAU Success to Herd

[Big City]

By JACK BOGACZYK
HERDZONE.COM COLUMNIST
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Doc Holliday has Florida. Dan D'Antoni has been heading to eastern Europe. Matt Daniel bird-dogs for talent in-state and the Tri-State. John Mercer's prospecting has a United Nations feel.

But among Marshall coaches, it's Mitch Jacobs who might have the most built-in recruiting territory. Jacobs, the veteran Thundering Herd volleyball coach, lands players from his own program.

Huh?

Jacobs also operates the River Cities Thunder Volleyball Club, which back in June made a splash in the AAU Nationals in Orlando, Fla. In the 18-and-under Club bracket, the Thunder went 10-2 and advanced farther in the bracket than any West Virginia team in history.

A third-place AAU Nationals finish helped Thunder teammates Shelby Conley and Kassidy Lemons to AAU All-America status.

Guess who make up half of the Herd's 2015 recruiting class?

Conley, from Paintsville, Ky., and Lemons, of Prichard, W.Va., feel like they had a leg up in joining the Herd for preseason workouts this week.

Why not? Besides Jacobs, MU assistant coaches Taylor Strickland and Matt Jackson also coach in the River Cities Thunder program.

"Finishing the way we did in Nationals was a pleasant surprise," Lemons said. "We really stepped up our game, played more together than we ever had before."

Conley figured "maybe it came down people really thinking this is going to be our last tournament together."

While Lemons and Conley say their run to a Nationals third-place finish surprised them, they say the competition played -- plus the added familiarity with Jacobs and his Herd program -- only helps them now.

"Playing at such a high level definitely makes the transition to this level easier," said the 5-foot-11 Conley, who also starred at Johnson Central High School. "Division I college volleyball ... if I just went from high school volleyball to here, there'd be a huge gap. Most people would think it's impossible. You could do it, but it would just be a lot harder

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