Hailey Brooks might just be a sophomore, but she has a pretty good feel for the No. 2 ranked Atlee girls volleyball program. She was a team manager in the seventh and eighth grade, playing with the Raiders in practice while preparing for the day when she’d take the court for them in a real match.

  That explains why the outside hitter is so comfortable as a key player for one of the top teams in the Central Region, and it showed Thursday night against Hanover. Brooks had nine aces to help lead the Raiders to a 25-15, 25-9, 25-12 win against the neighborhood rival Hawks.

  Brooks’ hard-to-defend jumping serve set the tone for each of the three games for Atlee (3-0 Central District, 9-1 overall). She had three aces as part of an eight-point run on her first serve of the first game, then added two aces apiece in 5-0 stretches in the beginning of the second and third games.

  “She’s very familiar with how we do things,” Raiders coach Curtis Carpenter said.

  Added Brooks, who also had six kills, four digs and 23 assists: “It definitely helped (being a manager) because I developed great relationships with the coaches, and I learned a lot about how they do things. I was looking forward to playing with them for years.”

  Brooks was a player for whom Carpenter had great expectations at the beginning of the season, but Atlee has thrived in large part because of its balance and the tendency of its players to fill the gap when needed.

  “We’re really trying to be balanced,” Carpenter said. “We try to come at you so many ways.”

  Take Meg Bowers. Given the opportunity by a Hanover defense that focused on other Raiders players, she responded with a match-high 14 kills.

  “I asked my setters why they weren’t setting more for her, because Hanover had nothing for her tonight,” Carpenter said.

  Morgan Shute also added four aces for the Raiders.

  The Hawks, who dominated Capital District play before Atlee won the regular season and tournament titles last season, didn’t have much for anyone on the Raiders roster. After scoring the first point of the first and second games, they didn’t lead again.

  Hawks coach Karl Lippa said the week gave his team a good sense of where they were and what they had to do to get there. The Hawks (2-2, 5-6) fell to No. 7 Lee-Davis 25-15, 25-17, 25-20 last Tuesday.

  “This was one of those matches where you try to learn from your mistakes,” Lippa said. “Atlee and Lee-Davis are playing well right now, but hopefully we’ll be there at the end of the season too.”

  With only one senior among the nine players available, Lippa knew an adjustment period was likely.

  “We’re still experiencing growing pains,” Lippa said. “Right now, we’re not in sync.”

  That’s not a problem afflicting the Raiders, who can put a stranglehold on the district title with a win Oct. 7 at home against Lee-Davis. Still, Carpenter isn’t ready to call himself satisfied with where his team is at.

  “I don’t think we’re there yet,” Carpenter said. “There’s still things to work on defensively, and they’re not on the same page on some plays. We’re pushing to get better every week and to compete together.”

Atlee ............................... 25 25 25
Hanover…........................15 9 12
Highlights: Meg Bowers (A) ace, 3
digs, assists, 14 kills; Hailey Brooks
(A) 6 kills, 9 aces, 4 digs, 23 assists;
Morgan Shute (A) 4 aces, 2 digs
Records: Atlee 3-0 Capital, 9-1;
Hanover 2-2, 5-6

Hanover…............................15 17 20
Lee-Davis….........................25 25 25
Highlights: Christina Penzer (LD) ace, 9 kills, 3 blocks, 6 digs; Nikki Baron (LD) 2 aces, 5 kills, 13 assists, 13 digs; Allie Labons (LD) ace, 9 kills, block, 6 digs; Shawna Kirby (H) 11 digs, ace, 2 kills; Logan Majewski (H) 6 kills, 8 digs, 2 aces; Halee Winston (H) 2 kills, 5 digs
Records: Hanover 2-1 Capital, 5-5; Lee-Davis 2-1, 6-5