Trinity, N.C. — Last season, Wheatmore nearly earned a trip to Fayetteville State University to play for the 2A volleyball state championship.
The Warriors were defeated on their home floor by Ayden-Grifton in four sets (19-25, 27-25, 25-15, and 25-15) during the eastern regional final. That was the second straight year the two teams squared off. Wheatmore won a fourth round match back in the 2018 playoffs, which did go the five-set distance.
Wheatmore finished 27-3 overall and a perfect 12-0 in PAC 7 Conference action last fall. The Warriors have won an outright conference championship in each of the last nine seasons.
Back in August, the N.C. High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) released its 2020-21 athletic calendar to the public. Volleyball and Cross Country are the first two sports to get started with competition on Monday, Nov. 16.
The NCHSAA is requiring masks to be worn during indoor games or matches, as well as practices for the foreseeable future to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Volleyball will play 14 regular season matches, then have a condensed postseason to follow. The mandate will be enforced once contests are underway.
“In the back of my mind, I knew it might come down to that just because there are colleges that are doing it,” said Wheatmore head volleyball coach Sarah Beth Campbell on the NCHSAA requiring masks to be worn. “I can see both sides of it. For me, if it means that the girls get to play, then that’s what we need to do. I know we are not mandated to do it until Monday, but since we have a scrimmage with McMichael, we went ahead and put it in place yesterday (Thursday). The girls looked at me like I was crazy … We’ll practice one time more before McMichael and I’ll probably push them to keep them (masks) up a little bit longer so their bodies are getting used to it.”
Six seniors graduated from Wheatmore’s volleyball programs in the Class of 2020. Two notable departures are setter Kaleigh Craft and outside hitter Hope Turbyfill. That senior tandem provided quality leadership after being apart of successful teams with big-match experience throughout high school. Craft was credited with 926 assists, 318 digs, and 53 aces in 97 sets as a senior. Turbyfill was a captain (per MaxPreps) in her final season. She now plays at the next level for UNC Pembroke after contributing 367 kills, 296 digs, and 37 aces last year.
As a junior, Carson Elliott was featured on the inaugural HighSchoolOT All-West volleyball team for her efforts. The 5-foot-8 outside hitter competed in 87 sets throughout the 2019 season for 348 digs, 321 kills, and 47 aces. Elliott is one of the team’s top statistical leaders back in the fold, and has even practiced time at other spots on the court recently because of potential COVID contact tracing situations popping up during the season.
“We’ve been trying to figure out our setter situation, so I’m setting on back row right now and hitting on front row,” said Elliott about expectations for her senior season. “I think that my stats will go up in hits and probably assists as well, but on digs… I don’t think they’ll be as high as they were last year. I want to do what’s best for our team.”
Bailey Whiteford plays multiple positions for Wheatmore: outside hitter, right-side hitter, and defensive specialist. The current senior had 50 digs, 48 kills, and 19 aces in 48 sets a season ago. Senior Natalie Dodd, a libero or defensive specialist, returns after notching 399 digs, receiving 356 serves, and distributing 46 aces. Middle hitter Kelly Williams (senior) is the Warriors’ final notable returner after having 158 kills, 56 total blocks (38 solo), and 28 aces in her junior season.
The PAC 7 Conference features seven schools that are in Randolph County (five), Chatham County (one), and Guilford County (one). With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic effecting areas differently, those three counties started holding workouts on separate dates. Randolph began on Jun. 15, Guilford permitted sessions on Sept. 28, and Chatham never started until Oct. 7. The teams within the league are Eastern Randolph, Jordan-Matthews, Providence Grove, Randleman, T.W. Andrews, Trinity, and Wheatmore.
The Warriors scheduled two non-conference opponents to finish their 14-match slate. Wheatmore travels to Southwest Guilford on Nov. 23, then also hits the road to face off with 2A power Carrboro on Dec. 16. Those road tilts could be significant for the playoffs by facing stiff out-of-league competition. The combined record for Southwest and Carrboro in 2019 was 44-11. During the postseason, the Jaguars made the fourth round (2A) and lost to Ayden-Grifton, while the Cowgirls were ousted in round two (3A).
“Any time we play out-of-conference teams, especially of a higher division, we just get to see better ball handlers and all-around (players),” said Campbell. “Especially coming from these cities that have huge clubs that these girls play out of. Not that small schools can’t have caliber players, but there might be two or three that we’re having to look after defending versus one. It’s nice to see Carrboro on the schedule. It was kind of random because we never play them until playoffs … We always play Southwest Guilford each year, so that’s always a fun match. A lot of my girls actually play for Meredith (Antley) in the offseason. That’s a fun little matchup, and it’s good for them to see some big girls.”
Wheatmore only dropped a single set in PAC 7 play in its 2019 campaign, which was on the road against Trinity (3-1 win). The Warriors need to get positions finalized during their scrimmage against McMichael on Monday evening, but having a positive outlook for the shorter season will be a one key to success for Campbell and her team.
“I’d say positive attitudes to push forward,” she said on ways Wheatmore can play at a high level in 2020-21. “It’s going to be a different season with us, we’re going to have people in quarantine. I guess we just need to be able to adapt. We’re going to have to do that a lot (by) using people in different positions, adapt to quarantines happening, and things like that.”
Schedule
Nov. 17 - vs. Randleman*
Nov. 19 - at Trinity*
Nov. 23 - at Southwest Guilford
Nov. 24 - vs. Providence Grove*
Dec. 1 - at Eastern Randolph*
Dec. 3 - at Jordan-Matthews*
Dec. 8 - vs. T.W. Andrews*
Dec. 10 - at Randleman*
Dec. 15 - vs. Trinity*
Dec. 16 - at Carrboro
Dec. 21 - at Providence Grove*
Dec. 23 - vs. Eastern Randolph*
Jan. 4 - vs. Jordan-Matthews*
Jan. 6 - at T.W. Andrews*
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November 17, 2020 at 04:42AM
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Wheatmore needs to adapt over the 14-match volleyball season for continued success - HighSchoolOT
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