The Riverside High School volleyball team and the O’Bannon High School volleyball are two programs on the rise. The Greenwaves and the Bulldogs met in Avon on Thursday with Riverside getting the best of their rival in a 25-9, 25-17, 25-19 contest.
The Bulldogs have clinched the Region 3-2Am championship and will be the top seed when the district tournament begins in two weeks.
“We have learned to play together really well and play our best in our most crucial points,” Riverside coach Markeia Brown said. We have learned how to pull it out and play as a team.”
Seniors Sydney Sheppard, Loren Brown, Allie Reed and Ann Hankins lead Bulldogs this season, along with all-around player Kamaya Evans. The Bulldogs have also got steady play this season from players like Madelyn Moulder and Kailynn Johnson. “But basically our whole team is playing together. It takes three players on every shot to work as a team to get it over the net.”
The O’Bannon volleyball program, meanwhile, is in its second season under Coach Ashley Redmond. Most of the Greenwave players had never played volleyball before last year.
Coach Redmond said her team is led by players like Zymilia Newsome, Shakira Hartley, who came in midseason, Halo White, Shelby Kingdom and Jamia Sellers.
Coach Redmond and her squad are also looking to make a postseason run.
“I like that you can visibly see the growth in the team,” Coach Redmond said. “We started early and we just worked our way slowly on getting better. This is our second year playing skills and we are still learning all the techniques. Especially with us losing slow pitch the girls needed another sport to explore. I think they have made great strides.”
