LADY WILDCATS HOPING FOR ANOTHER BANNER SEASON

The road sign at the entrance of the community of Leopold doesn't reveal its population; it only furnishes an arrow so you don't miss it.

Leopold is too small to support a school, some have said. Neighboring schools have suggested consolidation, and Leopold's high school was only recently granted full accreditation.

Inspectors weren't impressed by the school's humble facilities. But that's of little importance to the people of Leopold: They hope visitors instead take notice of the state championship sign in front of the building, the banners on the gymnasium walls and the trophies in the case in the lobby.

In the last five years, Leopold High's volleyball record stands 124-27-6. In 1993, that year's edition of the Lady Wildcats won the Missouri Class 1A championship.

Leopold -- not only the team, but the community -- hopes to win another this weekend. The Lady Wildcats, along with Smithton, Verona and Crest Ridge, will participate in round-robin play on Friday at Central Missouri State University's Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg.

Round-robin play will determine which teams play for third and which vie for the glory on Saturday. If they win, the Lady Wildcats know what to expect when they return to this usually quiet burg.

"In '93 people had big banners lined up all on the streets of Leopold," said junior Hanna Jansen, who was a seventh-grader then.

"The whole community just filled the gym; everybody was just really proud of them," said junior Jennifer VanGennip.

The community is already delighted with its team -- by most accounts Leopold should have already turned its jerseys in. The Lady Wildcats' quarterfinal opponent, defending 1A state champion Bell City, had humbled them twice this season.

But the Lady Wildcats played better than coach Leanne Huffman had ever seen them play, and they won the match 17-15, 15-2 in Poplar Bluff last Saturday.

"It was awesome," Huffman said.

She was talking about the upset, but the statement could describe a number of things for the first-year coach. Huffman is technically an assistant coach because she has not completed studies at Southeast Missouri State University, where she finished a standout volleyball career last year.

In 1990, as a player a few miles down the road at Zalma High, Huffman won a 1A state title. While other young coaches in southeast Missouri have found the going rough, Huffman, who has led her team to a 25-4-1 record this year, couldn't have inherited a much better situation.

"I'm sure I've made a lot of people mad," Huffman said with a laugh. "But it wasn't me; I didn't come in here and just work wonders in one year. They had a good volleyball background and I just helped them out a little bit. You know Leopold is volleyball country."

It's easy to see why Huffman's transition from collegiate player to high school coach was much smoother than some: She took the reins of a team that went 26-5-2 last year and won a district title. Returnees included honorable-mention all-conference selection Sarah Gowen, a sophomore setter, and second-team all-state outside hitter Alicia Halter, a senior.

It's a sure bet that Halter, the team's most electrifying player, won't mind if the front of the quaint Leopold gymnasium is further obscured from inspectors by another sign.

And Halter, who can nearly jump out of the gym, wants to put another banner in it.

* Bernie High will vie for its fourth consecutive state championship in the Class 2A competition in Warrensburg this weekend.

Bernie won the 2A title last year and the 1A crown in 1994 and 1995. Hermann, Strafford and Independence St. Mary's will attempt to unseat the Lady Mules, who are 29-4.