Ringgold ready to defend 6-AAA crown
The past four seasons have seen the Ringgold volleyball team enjoy a run of success that hasn’t been seen at the school in more than a decade.
Four trips to the state tournament, a pair of first-round victories and a (current) streak of three consecutive Area 6-AAA championships have put the Blue-and-white back on the state volleyball map, but the 2020 season will be a somewhat new road for the Lady Tigers.
Realignment has expanded Area 6-AAA to nine schools, including Class AAA state playoff participants Adairsville and Sonoraville, along with Lafayette, who made it all the way to the Final Four in Class AAAA a year ago.
If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, head coach Ashley Boren will also be trying to find ways to fill the enormous shoes of five graduated seniors, who were all major contributors on offense and defense to a team that won 76 matches over the past four seasons.
However, you don’t build a program like Ringgold’s without finding a way to keep things rolling and the cupboard is far from empty on Tiger Trail. It starts with a senior class that has played and contributed heavily to a number of those wins in the past few years.
“They’ve all been on varsity since they were sophomores and they all play club ball,” Boren said. “They’re definitely ready to be leaders as seniors. This is a fun group and I’m looking forward to them leading us on and off the court.”
Gracie Milford (51 aces in 2019) will likely spend the majority of her time on defense this season, as a specialist or possibly at libero, though she has the skills to play some at an outside hitter position. Meanwhile, powerful lefthanded hitter Makenna Mercer (44 kills) is a natural as a rightside hitter, although she can play some in the back row if needed.
Middle hitter Melanie Severns (143 kills, 94 blocks, 32 aces), who saw a good deal of action at the spot last year, will be a go-to player once again. She is versatile enough to play on the back row as well and is one of the team’s top returning servers, while the final senior,
Abby Roach (48 kills), will return to her outside hitter position, though she too is capable of helping out on the back row.
“Fortunately, they were all keys to our success the past two years,” Boren added. “They’ve played some key positions for us. We do have some holes to fill, but luckily we have those four in positions that will definitely benefit us.”
Among the juniors, Destiny Cavin is moving up from the JV squad. Another left-handed hitter, she will play in the middle on the front row. Allison Wolfedriver is also beginning her first season as a varsity team member. A solid allaround player, she can play multiple positions, including setter.
After serving as a middle hitter on the JV team last season, Iley Barnes will be lining up as an outside hitter on the varsity this year, while the final junior, Meredith Fowler, saw some time on the varsity club last year and will again play primarily on the back row, perhaps, at libero.
The final player on the varsity roster, sophomore Alayna Custer, will be
RINGGOLD,