Photo: Gadsden State’s Ella Garmany (center) passes the ball during a 2023 volleyball match against Calhoun.
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
Entering her third year at Gadsden State, head volleyball coach Courtney Brothers expects her 2024 team to display good court awareness and make sound decisions under pressure.
“I think that this group has a little bit better volleyball IQ coming in,” she said. “They’re jelling well and doing the things we’ve asked them to do. We’ve had some good practices, so we’re ready to get going.”
This year’s team will lack experience, as the roster includes only four sophomores – outside hitters Ella Garmany and Kaleigh Butler, defensive specialist Kinslee Gray and middle blocker Ryleigh Pack.
Last season, Garmany finished with 182 kills, 90 digs and 15 blocks; Gray came up with 166 digs and served up 17 aces, Butler had a team-high 226 kills and 42 blocks along with 61 digs and 20 aces and Pack collected 33 kills, 17 blocks and 15 digs.
“All of our girls coming back got a pretty good amount of playing time last year because of all the injuries and transfers we had,” said Brothers. “So they’ve got experience. But they’ve been competing just as hard as the freshmen, and they’ve done a good job of leading the younger girls into different roles.”
Garmany is from Centre, Butler from Geraldine, Gray from Glencoe and Pack from Hazel Green.
“Ella can play either side up front and drop back to pass if we need her to,” said Brothers. “She pretty played in every match last year. Kaleigh did really well for us a freshman, and we’re looking for that to roll over into this year. She’s improved so much over the summer. Kinslee will have some big responsibility on the back row again. Ryleigh was a late addition last year, and she’s done a good job of improving since then.”
Another sophomore, Ma-cey Johnson of Grissom, is expected to miss the season due to a serious knee injury sustained during a workout earlier this month. Johnson contributed 58 kills and 47 digs in 2023.
“You really hate to see that happen to anybody, but especially to a kid like Macey,” said Brothers. “She’s one of our hardest-working kids and is such a great person, too.”
The freshmen class includes middle blocker Sava-nnah Hall from Fort Payne, outside hitter/defensive spe-cialist Allie Bryant from Pleasant Valley, outside hitter Ally Folsom from Faith Christian in Anniston, middle blocker Kiley Tyler from Hayden, setter Rylin St. Clair from Sand Rock, setter Emma Earl from Holly Pond, outside hitter Makasia Crawford from Sylacauga, outside hitter Lacie Roer from Cedar Bluff, middle blocker Brianna Williams from Fort Payne, defensive specialist Ellie Carden from Ohatchee, outside hitter Landon Phillips from Guntersville and outside hitter Brittany Swain from Lincoln.
“Savannah should bring a lot in the hitting and blocking departments,” said Brothers. “She’s a very dynamic pla-yer in those areas. Allie will be changing her role a little bit from high school. To me, Ally is a diamond-in-the-rough in that not a whole lot of people knew about her before the (2023 AHSAA) state tournament, where she played really well. She’s going to be a big help for us on the outside. Kiley’s very good blocker who will rotate in and out. Rylin and Emma both did very well this spring, and hopefully they’ll speed up our offense a little bit. Makasia can play anywhere on the front row, so we’ll utilize her in a number of ways. Lacie is a real go-getter who will give it her all every single time. Brianna can play either in the middle or outside, which gives us some flexibility. Ellie’s another kid that really gets after it. Landon is very
knowledgeable about the game and she’s already done a lot of good for us. Brittany is a transfer from Savannah State who is a lefty, so she’ll give us another weapon up front.”
Gadsden State competes in the Alabama Community College Conference North Division along with Snead State, Wallace-Hanceville, Calhoun, Lawson State, Southern Union and Bevill State. Defending conference champion Wallace State has won 15 of the past 15 ACCC titles. This year’s state tournament will be held at Sand Mountain Park in Albertville.
Gadsden State will compete in a preseason quad match on Saturday, August 17 at Faulkner University in Montgomery. The Lady Cardinals open the season on Thursday, August 22at home against Pellissippi (Tenn.) State.
“Skill-wise and talent-wise, we’ll be fine,” said Brothers. “Our biggest thing is to stay in shape mentally. If we can keep our heads on straight, I think we’ll have a pretty good chance of getting into the conference tournament. We’ve certainly got a lot of potential.”
The 2023 Lady Cardinals went 9-27 overall and 3-9 in Alabama Community College Conference action.