It didn't take Karlee Winecoff long to master the fundamentals of the game of volleyball at Cass, and now she's reaping the benefits with a scholarship to play the sport at the college level.

The Lady Colonel said she decided to try out at Cass her sophomore year at the urging of Mitzi Johnson, a friend who already was a member of the team.

"[Mitzi] played her freshman year and told me, 'You should come and try out. You're tall (5 foot, 11 inches).' I did and ended up making the JV team.

"I kind of just picked [playing volleyball] up . . . I learned it pretty well. I just thought it was really fun."

Winecoff's volleyball career started with the junior varsity team at Cass, and she was a varsity starter her junior and senior seasons.

She said she took to the game quickly because she found a lot of things about it that she liked.

It's really competitive and I can be aggressive with it. It's really fun to me, too," she added.

Jamie Horton, Cass head volleyball coach, said Winecoff quickly made her presence felt on the volleyball court.

"She's played middle hitter in junior varsity and varsity and outside hitter as a junior. Either position she's very good at it. She's probably more of an outside hitter because when she's playing middle she's sometimes going up against players who are 6 feet, 2 inches or 6 feet, 3 inches tall.

"But she can be highly successful wherever you put her on the front line."

Horton said her intensity also can be a big part of Winecoff's game.

"Karlee is a very intense person," he said. "A lot of times you can't tell it, but it upsets her when things don't go quite the way we plan. That's her wanting to win. She has that will to win. In athletes that want to go on to the next level, that's one of the first things you look for as a coach."

He said Winecoff, who was named to the all-tournament team at the Sonoraville Invitational Tournament as a senior and as an all-county player her junior year, also was a team leader.

"She's not a vocal leader but Karlee is one of those who leads by actually getting out there," he said. "When she turns it on, she can put a whole team on her back and just carry it. I saw her at times this year just carry the whole team. She'd win a game, basically, by herself. She's that type of player."

He added Winecoff works hard and that should help her continue to improve as a college player.

"Palm Beach is getting a hard-working kid," Horton said. "She comes out and practices. She did everything we asked. She was a late bloomer, you would say. She did not play in middle school or her ninth-grade year, but she came out her 10th-grade year and we saw a lot of promise in her."

Because of her potential, he said, coaches mentioned what club ball could do for her game and were pleased when she pursued that outlet when volleyball season ended.

"When she came back as a junior, she was ready to go," Horton said. "They did a great job with her and she developed a lot playing on the club team."

The Cass senior said she learned a lot about the game playing for the Cobb-Atlanta Juniors in Atlanta.

Her play on the club team opened the door for her with Palm Beach State College, a two-year college in Florida.

She said in late March she was playing in the Big South Volleyball Tournament, a national qualifier, and after the game she spoke with the Palm Beach volleyball coach about playing with the Lady Panthers.

"After the coach said he was interested in me, we looked into it more and it seemed like a great school," she said. "I really liked the coach and it was in Florida. It worked out because they gave me a full ride."

Winecoff said playing volleyball will help pay for her schooling at Palm Beach, and she hopes it leads to play at a four-year school.

"I'll just be taking the core classes I need at Palm Beach," she said. "I'll figure out what I want to major in later.

"My plan is to hopefully transfer to a four-year college in Georgia later and continue playing volleyball and attending school."