Work to be done, but Tigers look to keep rolling

Gary Fauber, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
·4 min read

Aug. 9—Shady Spring has run the gamut of emotions on the volleyball court at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center the last three seasons.

There was the thrill of a state championship in 2020. Around it, there was the heartbreak of a letdown in 2019 and the nerves of a five-setter only to fall just short in 2021.

The thing about it is that the Tigers keep giving themselves chances, the result of coach Kelly Williams building a consistent program.

"It's one of those things where it hurts at the time, but when you look back at all their successes and you look at how consistent they are, I just think that proves that they are one of the best in the state, and have been one of the best teams in the state," Williams said. "Consistency matters. Sometimes that team is better than you are on that day, and vice versa. It speaks volumes for the fact that they've been committed to this sport as long as they have, and that they have been able to perform on that state level for — especially the seniors — their entire careers."

That figures to be the same this fall, although Williams cautions there is work to be done. Much of the reasoning is that the Tigers lost three seniors from last year's team, including Class AA first-team all-state setter Kelsie Dangerfield (916 assists, 220 digs, 53 aces, 179 kills). Outside hitter/defensive specialist Peydon Smith (246 kills, 91 aces, 320 digs) was a second-teamer.

Also gone is outside hitter/defensive specialist Aly Holdren (.934 serve percentage, 242 digs, 251 assists).

"(Losing three starters) definitely does change things," she said. "It is going to be a rebuilding kind of year. We've got girls playing positions they've never played before. That's what I'm thinking; I really don't know how it's all going to pan out. We have a lot of work to do. We're going to have to definitely put in the work to get to where we need to be.

"It's definitely not going to be a cakewalk. Everyone's going to have to put in their time and work hard for their positions and really put in the work to be at the level we need to be."

All three seniors signed to play in college this fall — Dangerfield with Fairmont State, Smith with West Virginia Wesleyan and Holdren with WVU Tech.

"To see everyone go on and try to extend their volleyball careers is wonderful," Williams said. "Just for them to have the opportunity to attempt to do it is a great feeling of accomplishment."

Significant losses, to be sure. But there is experience coming back from a team that went 42-4-1 and dropped the state title match in five sets to Philip Barbour, the final going 15-13.

The leader is senior middle hitter Meg Williams, last year's first-team all-state captain. After missing a chunk of the early part of the season due to injury, Williams finished with 323 kills, 76 blocks and 32 aces.

Outside hitter Chloe Thompson (492 kills, .388 hitting efficiency) was also a first-team selection last fall and joins Meg Williams as the team's only seniors.

"These seniors have been to the state tournament since they were freshmen," Williams said. "They've played in the state championship since they were freshmen. They've been there, done that. They know what it takes to be successful. They know what it takes to get them through the state tournament and to push on to the finals. We have a lot of younger girls this year, so hopefully their leadership will definitely come through and they will be good leaders and guide these girls to become what it takes to get to that level."

Juniors on the team are middle hitter/defensive specialist Camille Testerman and setter Haley Sweeney. Sophomores are defensive specialist/outside hitter Rachel Mann, Jalynn Pino, Cadence Stump, Sarah Polk and Gracie Moore.

Williams is also expecting positive things out of her freshman class.

The Tigers had a successful offseason, including winning a summer tournament at West Virginia State.

"We had a great summer turnout," Williams said. "We had pretty much 12 girls solid all summer. They got to meet each other and know each other and play together. We did, of course, our three-week period and we also did some conditioning before that. ... We were pretty successful, but we went to that camp (at State) looking for things we needed to work on and we realized that we have a ways to go. Even though we did have success, we still have a lot of work to put in."

Email: gfauber@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gfauber5