No one lost more from 2010 to 2011 than Danville.

Not much was expected from a team that had to replace five starters from a team that made the AHSAA Class 3A State Tournament.

They lost UAB signee Lindsay Simmons and four other key players, but Spencer Cole found a way to do it. It wasn’t always easy, but they kept fighting.

By the end of the year, Danville was as good as any team in Class 3A as they made the state semifinals and came within three points of making the state finals.

“At the beginning of the season if you would have told me we would score 12 points in the fifth game of the state semifinals, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Cole said after the state tournament. “I’m just so proud of these girls. They have really improved over this season so much.”

Because of that effort, the Hartselle Enquirer has named Danville volleyball coach Spencer Cole, a volunteer coach who works at UAH, the 2011 Coach of the Year.