Ridgeland volleyballers counting on chemistry
Last year, a young Ridgeland team stunned many folks in the area by finishing third in the Region 6-AAAA volleyball tournament and advancing to state for first time since 2016 when a senior-loaded squad won the region made it all the way to the Class 4A Elite Eight.
Now, with nearly everyone back from last year’s squad, the Lady Panthers are hoping to prove that 2018 was no fluke.
“I think that we came together when we needed to last year and really set the tone for what the girls plan to do this year,” said fourthyear head coach April Lemonds, now in her seventh season overall at the school. “Our region is really a tough one. Nobody’s really down this year, so they all know it’s going to take everybody to win. We can’t just depend on one person to get all the kills. We have to spread it around and keep the energy up because when we lag on our energy, sometimes we fall apart.”
Lemonds will have three veteran seniors to help lead the Lady Panthers in 2019 in outside hitter/defensive specialist Jayda Jenkins, utility player Sarah Williams and middle hitter Landree Dunn. Jenkins had 267 kills, 206 digs and 68 aces a year ago. Williams added 112 kills, 207 digs and 108 aces, while Dunn chipped in with 100 kills.
“Jayda has been on the varsity for four years and the other two have been on the varsity for three years,” Lemonds explained. “We kind of had to throw (Williams and Dunn) onto the varsity roster as sophomores because we lost (nine) seniors from the year before.
“In my opinion, Jayda hits the ball just about as hard as any high school kid I’ve ever seen. We were at camp this summer at Kentucky and they had a hardest hitter contest and she finished third. There were a lot of really big schools there with a lot of really good players so that was good to see. She’ll be an outside hitter, but will also play back row on defense. She’s one of those kids that you don’t ever have to take off the court.”
“Sarah is like having another assistant coach. She’s so smart and flexible and she’ll play anywhere you ask her to play. She’s played outside, middle and at defensive specialist and this year she’s even setting in one rotation for us. She’s a kid that just says ‘yes ma’am’ and does whatever you need her to do to help the team be successful.
“And Landree is a kid that brings a lot of positivity to the court. She wins the team spirit award every year at our banquet. She’s a little deceptive with her hits and she can catch people off-guard at times – we call it the Landree Special — but she plays a key role for us too. Her attitude and positivity are big for us.”
The junior class includes a pair of players, setter Isabella Allen and defensive specialist Sara Taylor, who will both be asked to do even more this season after getting some solid varsity experience a year ago.
Among the underclassmen, middle hitter Justice Devlin had 153 kills and 48 blocks as a rookie, while libero Brylee Durham is coming off a freshman campaign that saw her record 143 digs. The sophomore class will also feature rightside hitter Asia Silmon, defensive specialist Bailey Fowler and setter Kailey Boulware, while freshman Natalee McClain will give Ridgeland another good hitter on the outside.
“It was nice last year because we had some freshmen that played key roles who will be back this year,” Lemonds said. “You can already see the maturity (this year) when things get tough. When we were at camp, they didn’t fold. They battled back, which was nice to see.”
Lemonds added that she believes her team’s overall chemistry is its strength.
“They seem to really like each other and when you’re friends with somebody, you want to do well for them,” she added. “One of our main goals this year is going to be unselfishness and when you’re with your friends, it makes it easier to be selfless.”