ROCKINGHAM — The grind hasn’t stopped for the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team, using the mindset of “relentless pursuit” despite being limited during the summer.
While the 2020-2021 fall sports season hangs in the balance with a possible Sept. 1 start date, third-year head coach Ashleigh Larsen has been trying to keep her team’s focus on the positive things.
Among the team members are seven senior players, all of whom are hoping to see their final high school season come to fruition. During the summer months, which are usually meant for workouts, conditioning and volleyball camp, they’re instead being spent staying busy at home.
Georgia Grace Anderson, Taylor Chappell, Emy Cooley, Jakerra Covington, Kelly and Shelly Hoffman and Jayla McDougald have all been a part of the Richmond program since their freshman year, and now just one last shot at hitting the court and contending for a Sandhills Athletic Conference title.
“I’ve told all the girls, but especially the seniors, I wish I had something to make this easier or not so upsetting,” Larsen said of the current coronavirus dead period. “I texted them the other night and promised to do everything in my power to make sure they have a good senior year.
“I keep praying, but unfortunately it’s out of our hands,” she added. “My heart aches for these girls and I’m trying to help them stay positive.”
When the dead period first hit high school athletics in mid March, Larsen, then assisting with the girls’ soccer team, admitted that she thought it would pass quickly and order would be restored quickly.
But as the original start date for official tryouts nears, Larsen is pushing her athletes harder than ever to stay in shape and ready for when the season is a go. She posts daily workouts on Twitter and has kept in touch with players, answering questions and providing additional training.
“I want them to remain in shape and positive, and I thought posting workouts like our normal schedule would keep their heads up,” Larsen explained. “It’s all about the sense of keeping the team together.
“Our summer workouts are all about weights and building muscle, so I fed off Coach (Bryan) Till and encouraged the girls to use random objects around the house to lift. I’m trying to give them something to focus on to stay prepared.”
Anderson, Chappell and Cooley will all be three-year varsity players, while the Hoffman twins, Covington and McDougald will be second-year contributors this fall.
Last season, Anderson, who is a six-foot middle hitter, was named to her first All-Sandhills Athletic Conference. She’s spent the last two years as a starter for Larsen and her decision making of playing at the college level has been slowed during the virus.
She started gaining interest from colleges around the state last year when she led the Lady Raiders in kills (261) and kill percentage (57.1 percent), and was second to Covington in blocks (36).
Currently, programs like Greensboro College, UNC-Pembroke, Methodist University, William Peace University and Averett University (Danville, Va.) have shown interest in Anderson. These are all teams that have a “strong family aspect,” which is what Anderson is searching for.
“The recruiting process hasn’t been the easiest. I’m not the type of person to put myself out there, so that was something I had to get used to,” Anderson explained.
“I am looking for a school with a small professor-to-student ratio and a school that will give me opportunities to form close relationships with the faculty and staff.”
In addition to following Larsen’s workouts, and having fun incorporating her parents in the mix, Anderson has been seeing a personal trainer in Sanford twice a week to get her ready for the next level.
Chappell, a right side hitter, and Cooley, who will be taking over the libero position, will both be entering their second season as full-time starters. Cooley comes back as the team’s returning leader in digs, racking up 145 as a junior, while Chappell will look to continue her work as a powerful hand on the outside. She had 44 kills and 29 aces last fall.
Both agreed this isn’t how they envisioned the start of their senior year, but are willing to take any sort of season that might happen.
“I hope that we will be able to have some sort of season this year, I’d honestly take anything we could get and be grateful for it,” Cooley explained. “I really miss the escape volleyball gives me from the stresses of my life.
“My teammates are some of my closest friends and I hate that I haven’t spent the summer at workouts with them this year,” she continued. “Senior year is supposed to be our time to shine and really enjoy our sport. I’ve been looking forward to senior year for as long as I can remember and I never imagined it would be like this.”
Chappell echoed Cooley, adding that the home workouts have been an added incentive to be prepared for when the time comes.
“It has been strange this summer not to have any type of workouts with my teammates,” Chappell explained. “But I think everyone is doing their part at home to remain in shape and ready for when and if we come back.
“Coach Scully keeps us updated and gives us new workouts to do almost everyday,” she added of Larsen. “She has constantly been hopeful throughout this whole situation and it has really helped me stay positive that at some point we will have a senior season.”
Covington, who had a breakout junior year with the Lady Raiders and was also named to her first All-Conference team. Beside Anderson in the middle, she was second with 197 kills, and led Richmond with 69 total blocks.
She believes that her pairing with Anderson will be stronger than ever, despite not being able to work alongside her fellow middle hitter this summer. She’s also been putting in a lot of work on her own time to get better.
“I feel that me and GGA really have the same mindset when it comes to getting on the court and putting our all into the game,” Covington said. “I hope to be able to step my game up for the better of our team, and I want to be ‘volleyball smart.’ I’ve been watching a lot of videos on YouTube to work on my mechanics and I can’t wait to practice them on the court.
“Not being able to workout as a team has been disappointing,” she added of the break. “This is when the team bonding and the magic of coming together starts. I haven’t given up though and I really hope to be back on the court this season. I think we can win the conference and make a deep run in the state playoffs.”
Chappell also acknowledged one of the team’s goals was to win the SAC, and said she’s focused on “spending time with my teammates and making some great memories.”
Covington added that last year’s “heartbreaking loss” to Reagan in the playoffs still sticks with her. She quoted Maya Angelou and said “you may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decided not to be reduced by them,” a statement she truly believes in.
Kelly and Shelly Hoffman, along with McDougald, played minimal minutes as juniors. Larsen said this year all three will need to “step up and have breakout seasons” and fill their respective roles in order for the Lady Raiders to win their first SAC title since 2017.
Kelly Hoffman will be one of Larsen’s outside hitters, replacing now graduated Madison Jordan and Jadyn Johnson. Shelly Hoffman will be looked at to fulfill the setting role left open by Carley Lambeth, and McDougald will continue her job as a defensive specialist
While Larsen wants this upcoming season to happen for her seven seniors, she’s not forgetting about her handful of juniors and rising freshmen and sophomores. COVID-19, she said, has taken a hit on the program’s development and interest level, something she’s spent the last couple years improving.
“We’re kind of in the unknown of what’s next, but I’m glad we’re going with Plan B,” Larsen said of Richmond County Schools’ decision to return students to school in some capacity. “But nothing has been laid out for us and we don’t know what anything will look like.
“This also hurts our program because I had 24 incoming freshmen who were interested and that was a sign that our program was growing,” she closed. “I understand why we can’t practice, but it’s frustrating because we were going to have the largest number of girls to try out this year.”
Until the official go-ahead comes across the board for fall sports to begin, Larsen, along with assistant coach Madelyn Chappell and junior varsity head coach Melissa Dennis, will be posting “competition videos” on Twitter to keep the Lady Raiders active.
