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They’re Back

By Staff | Aug 22, 2018

Photo provided Pictured is the 2018 Magnolia High School Lady Blue Eagles volleyball team.

After losing a heartbreaker to Tyler Consolidated in the WVSSAC Class A semi-final, despite needing only two points in the third set to win the set and match, Magnolia’s volleyball team would fall in overtime, 27-25, and drop the next sets – including the tie-breaker. This kept the Lady Eagles from a repeat visit to Charleston in the state volleyball tournament.

However, that is in the past. The Lady Eagles are locked and loaded now to redeem themselves and get back to the state championship once again. Starting with junior Kyndra Pilant (5-11) and sophomore Mady Winters (6-0), the Eagles just may accomplish the task again, as they also bring back their entire starting line-up that includes their only senior in Kennedy Parsons (5-10), sophomore setter Lenieca Grimm, and back-row specialist Kayna Anderson who took over the Libero duties from sister Alavia Anderson – who graduated, plus Liza Clegg and Shyanna White (6-0).

The Lady Eagles also have returnees Alyssa Kocher, Zoey Jenkins and Mikalyn Renner to go along with freshmen Kyra Dalton, Jazlyn Ingold, Lily Spratt, Sydney Scott, Jaci Rhode, Tamia Smith and Karalyn Lynch to fill out a nice 17 team roster.

During the summer, the Lady Eagles – going without the services of Kennedy Parsons who was in boot camp in National Guard – won the Martins Ferry Tournament as well as the River Pilots Jim Turner Memorial Classic, and they are not done.

“We have had a great summer and are excited to get started,” said long-time volleyball coach Pam Chapman.

With most of the attention heading towards Pilant and Winters, and with Parsons as well as White on the front line, Chapman will have a front line that will leave the opposing teams scratching their heads on how to defend this talented bunch.

Pilant and Winters pretty much controlled the nets with their spikes and dinks last season, while Grimm set the table for the biggest part of their kills and dinks.

Even though Pilant and Winters have laid to rest quite a few hundred kills, you can turn that around and see that they were just as effective at the net with their blocks.

Adding Parsons, White and Clegg into the mix makes a dominating front line. The loss of Alavia Anderson to graduation might have given Magnolia a small dent in their armor when it comes to having a Libero; however, in comes a very tough cookie in her sister Kayna Anderson.

Kayna played a lot of back row last season and will do just as her big sister when it comes to making saves, as well as junior Zoey Jenkins who will also play some Libero too.

Now with the front line as one of the best, if not the best, in high school volleyball, you are not as good if you don’t have a nice group in the back row and filling in up front, as well as serving.

If Chapman wants to substitute her big girls when they get in the back row, she can use Jaci Rhode, Alyssa Kocher, as well as Jenkins and not miss a beat.

Serving is such a big part of the game, and the Lady Eagles have worked really hard into fine-tuning it. Pilant and Winters do an exceptional job with their serving along with the rest of their squad, and both are just as good as the others when it comes to digging and getting the ball to Grimm to set up the front line for a good look to spike the ball.

No matter if it’s Pilant, Winters, White, or Parsons up front, you can bet one of them will get their hand on the ball. If the Lady Eagles’ front row misses, the back row will surely be there to bump, set and spike.

The Lady Eagles will start the season with eight straight away matches beginning with Wheeling Park Aug. 30 with the junior varsity set to start at 5:30 p.m.