Fort Mill volleyball off to hot start, plus region standings on all Rock Hill-area teams

The 2021 volleyball season is underway, and the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets are off to a blazing start. They are currently 9-1 on the year.

The Jackets are 8-1 in two weekend tournaments, and they picked up a 3-1 victory against a solid Rock Hill team in between.

Their tournament wins have come against Riverside, Belton-Honea Path, Eastside, Spartanburg Christian, Blue Ridge, High Point, Daniel and R-S Central. Their only loss of the year was to Powdersville in the championship match in the first tournament of the year.

Coach Jim Seidel, who has had success coaching in the North Carolina high school ranks in his career and is entering in his first year at Fort Mill, is more than pleased with the progress his team has made. (Seidel was hired in February, a year after the coach took Mountain Island Charter School in Mount Holly, N.C., to a state championship final.)

“We are getting better every day,” he said. “That is all I can ask for right now. The players on the team are very dedicated, and they are working hard.”

Fort Mill finished 10-5 overall a year ago, and the team’s 3-5 region mark was not good enough to make the playoffs.

“We are playing more as a team this year instead of playing as six individuals,” he added. “We have worked on ball control, serving, hitting and defense. When they saw what we could do, they started to realize that we could have a good year.”

He added: “I did not see all of this in the beginning. As we have focused more on all aspects of the game, they see it, and they are starting to believe in themselves and their teammates.”

Seidel’s starting lineup has a good mix of experience: Hannah Behrmann, Emerson Little, Kennedy Robinson and Logan Yarborough, all of whom are seniors, are starters. Little and Robinson are hitters, Behrmann is the setter and Yarborough is a defensive specialist. Grace Duey, a junior hitter, and Katelyn Rutledge, a freshman hitter, complete the starting group.

Seniors Ava Clacy, Renee Hillhouse and Mario Puno, as well as junior Gracie Johnson and sophomore Tori Boling, rotate in during the match. All sixteen players on this year’s team have seen some playing time thus far.

“I have looked at every position and the rotation,” he said. “I can substitute with confidence.”

Robinson leads the Jackets in kills with 2.9 per set, Duey has 2.5 kills per set, and Rutledge adds 1.8 per set. Robinson and Duey lead the team in aces with 11 and six respectively for the season.

Rutledge is the leader in blocks with 1.9 per set and Little has 1.7 per set. Robinson is tops in digs with 7.1 per match, and Duey is next with 6.9 per match. Behrmann has 4.5 assists per set, while Puno, who is the backup setter, has 2.8 per set.

The team has goals of winning its region and going deep in the playoffs — and it appears to have a chance to reach those goals.

“This team is beginning to believe in themselves, and they are beginning to believe in each other,“ he said. “We need to keep working and improving, and that trust in each other that I see developing will get stronger.”

The Yellow Jackets’ next match is Tuesday when they play at home against Weddington.

A quick look at region standings

The area teams are playing in tournaments and taking on non-region competition as they gear up for the region portion of the schedule, which starts in a couple of weeks. Here’s what you need to know about each region.

REGiON 3-5A

Fort Mill is 9-1 thus far, and Boiling Springs is 3-0. Gaffney is 2-0, while Clover is 1-0. Nation Ford, the defending region champion, is 4-3.

REGION 4-5A

Rock Hill is 2-2 thus far. Blythewood is 1-3, while Northwestern, which won the region a year ago, is 0-1. Spring Valley is 0-2, and Ridge View is 0-3.

REGION 3-4A

Catawba Ridge is 5-2 in the early going, while South Pointe is 1-1. Indian Land, last year’s region champion, is 0-1, York is 0-2, and Lancaster has not played a match.

REGION 4-3A

Chester and Mid-Carolina, last year’s region winner, are both 0-1. Keenan is 0-2, while Fairfield Central and Lower Richland have not played a match to date.

REGION 4-2A

York Prep is 2-0 and North Central, which claimed the region title last year, is 1-0. Andrew Jackson and Cheraw are both 0-1, while Central, Buford, and Chesterfield have not played a match.

REGION 2-1A

Lewisville is 1-0, while Great Falls, Governor’s School, and CA Johnson are 0-1. McBee, which won the region a year ago, has yet to play a match.

This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 7:00 AM.