Randi Orr knew there would be no shortcuts to turning around a Gainesville High volleyball program that hadn't seen any previous success.

Once she was hired as coach last spring, she took the initiative to put expectations in place that the Red Elephants could win, even in an area of the state known for competitive volleyball.

Already, Orr's vision is turning into a reality. This season, Gainesville won 24 matches, qualified for the state tournament for the first time in school history and made it all the way to the Class AAA state quarterfinals.

A year before Orr took over as coach, Gainesville only won four times.

"To see the way the girls on our team worked together all year made me grin from ear to ear," said Orr, in her second season with the program. "Gainesville is a school that's so strong in tradition and I want the volleyball team to be part of that."

For her efforts, Orr is the Times Area Volleyball Coach of the Year.

When she was hired as coach, Orr already had in place a tremendous volleyball background after playing in college at Brenau University.

However, she also wanted to create an edge in terms of preparation and left no stone unturned and learned every angle of the game and becoming a leader of athletes from the sideline.

"When I was hired, I wanted to share my passion for volleyball through coaching," Orr said. "I knew there were so many things I wanted to be able to do with the program."

As a new coach, Orr was as thorough in her detail as to create a mission statement for what the program could become.

She also gave players a neatly organized binder of activities for non-mandatory summer conditioning, a foundation for all sports, but necessary in setting the groundwork for what turned into a season that exceeded everyone's expectations.

When learning how to coach, Orr used clinics at Emory University and Georgia Tech to gain useful insight into the responsibility that comes with being the face of the program.

Also, there were tireless hours spent researching on the internet and learning the most streamlined ways to run a practice and how to become competitive.

Orr also relied on a coaching staff with assistants Julie Oliver, Sarah Palmer and Kelsi New to help divide responsibilities and have more eyes on the floor at all times.

Gainesville's first-year coach gives credit to the players' parents for serving as the foundation and support system for the new direction she wanted to take the program.

Coming in to the head coaching position, Orr also made it a priority to set out the goals for players' families and get them on board to share in the process.

"We have great communication with the parents," Orr said. "They're really the strong rock of the program."

By the time the playoffs rolled around, Gainesville was already battled tested and qualified as a No. 3 seed out of Area 8-AAA.

However, the Red Elephants probably saved their best for last. After falling down 2-0 to Locust Grove in the second round on the road, Gainesville stormed right back with three wins to take the match and advance to the state quarterfinals.

"It was so exciting watching the team play in the playoffs," Orr said. "I was ecstatic during the whole thing."

One of Orr's goals now is to builder a feeder system for the high school program that dips all the way down into the elementary school level to teach the basics of the game and get kids excited about playing volleyball at a young age.

It's going to be important to keep the program moving forward as Gainesville plans a jump up to Class AAAAA for next season.

"It's certainly going to be a challenge moving up in classifications," Orr said. "It's going to make us all work harder during the offseason."