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Ritchie, Williamstown volleyball eye Class A state title

By Jay W. Bennett 5 min read

PARKERSBURG -- If things go as planned for top-seeded Ritchie County and No. 2 seed Williamstown, the Little Kanawha Conference rivals will square off for the Class A state championship at 9:30 a.m. Saturday inside the Charleston Coliseum.

However, there's a lot of work to do on Friday before that can become a reality. Neither Rebel boss Matt Carpenter nor Yellowjacket head coach Rachelle Cole are looking at anything other than their quarterfinal battles.

"They are very excited for this opportunity, especially after the scare we had (at regional) with a very good Wheeling Central team," admitted coach Carpenter, whose 28-7 squad takes on No. 8 Charleston Catholic following the 8:30 a.m. match between No. 4 Gilmer County and No. 5 Greenbrier West.

"This team has done everything that I have asked of them this year to put us in the best position possible in Charleston. We have had a tremendous season so far and I know that this team is ready to meet any challenge in Charleston."

WHS, which improved to 28-9-2 after beating the Rebels for the regional crown, will hit the floor at 1:30 p.m. against seventh-seeded Moorefield.

The other quarterfinal pits No 3 Buffalo and No. 6 East Hardy.

"We have some highlight film on East Hardy and talked to some other coaches," stated coach Cole, whose squad boasts seniors Lakyn Joy, Jillian Modesitt, Aubrey Erwin and Halley Landis. "We know they have a good left-handed outside hitter who serves well. We are just going to take everything one match at a time.

"We still feel robbed we were unable to play at the state tournament last year after being seeded fourth in our section and knocking out the two and three seeds, even just for the experience of it. We are not going to take this year for granted. I told the girls to work hard and enjoy the ride. The biggest key for us is to play with confidence, trust ourselves and our teammates, and play relaxed."

Ritchie County, which suffered its first loss to WHS during the regional final in Ellenboro, is led by junior masher Rebekah Rupert.

"She's had a great year on the court recording over 500 kills this season so far," Carpenter noted. "Abby Nichols (896 assists) keeps putting our hitters in a great position to get kills. Olivia Cress and Emily Griffin have had a very good year at the net blocking and getting over 200 kills each. Presley Johnson and Sydney Kopshina have shared duties at the net and in the back row and both have been performing at a very high level for us.

"Jayci Gray has been our Swiss Army knife this year on the court. There is nothing she can't do at any position. Marissa Jeffrey is playing the libero position extremely well of late. Karissa Weekley leads the team in service points and is a solid back row player. Our back row play has been a staple for us most games this season. I'm excited to coach this team at the state tournament and see what we can accomplish."

The Ritchie County boss is trying to get his team back to the state championship match for the first time since 2017 when the Rebels finished runner-up to Wirt County, which won the 2020 state crown but failed to make it out of sectionals this year.

"This is a great field of teams at the state tournament this year," added Carpenter. "Charleston Catholic has a couple of very good hitters and they have had a solid year. We are more focused on us at the moment and making sure we have the right mindset to fight for every point and clean up any unforced errors that we have been making.

"If we can get the ball to our hitters in the right area I really like our chances at state. I know this sounds cliche, but we are not looking ahead to any opponent and trying to stay in the moment on the court."

The worst part for coach Cole about being banned from the state tournament in 2020 was the fact her younger players didn't get a taste of the big show atmosphere.

"Obviously, last year (Parkersburg) Catholic had a really solid team and I feel like probably would've won the state tournament had they been able to compete in it," she said. "I also thought we could've contested them the best.

"I knew that we had a really solid team building for this year. There are five solid juniors (Kamryn Haynes, Payton Woodard, Riah Sprouse, Georgie Inman, Gabby West) on our team right now and they really could've used that experience. They've never been on that stage before. That would've been helpful."

Nonetheless, it's full steam ahead for Williamstown as the Yellowjackets are only worried about the other Yellow Jackets in the state quarterfinal.

"Our seniors are all great leaders in their own right," continued Cole. "Lakyn has ran a 5-1 for this team for four years and is one of the most selfless, dedicated and determined players I've ever had the pleasure of coaching. She is great under pressure and does an excellent job of getting the ball to whoever happens to be on that night. She will be greatly missed, but we are so fortunate to have had her these last four years. Jillian has been a solid libero for the last two years.

"I have no idea how she gets to some of the balls she does, but she gives her full 100 percent every single day. She's also a great leader and brings a lot of energy to the team. Aubrey has been a solid middle and has had some of her best games in postseason play. Halley has improved the entire season and brings a great light-hearted attitude to practice and is calming for the girls in tight games."

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

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