‘I want to teach them to love the game.’ Great Falls reinstates volleyball program

The Great Falls Red Devils have started playing volleyball once again.

The 1A program, which enjoyed a lot of success in the 1990s, was planned to be reinstated last year. But the COVID-19 pandemic foiled its return.

This year is a totally different story.

This year the program is under the direction of head coach Makala McCrorey, who was the head junior varsity coach at Fort Mill the past two years.

The very young team is already seeing tremendous progress on the court, McCrorey said.

“We improve by leaps and bounds every day,” said McCrorey. “When I look at where we were the first day of practice, and where we are now, I cannot believe how far we have progressed.”

The Red Devils’ varsity roster shows 10 players, a solid number for a program that is rebuilding at a school in a rural, 2,000-person town in an already rural Chester County.

There are no seniors, and Emma Suthard is the only junior. Hailee Rape, Kaylee Smith, Kenley Henson and Riley Williams are sophomores. Kinsley Price is the only freshman, while Emily Manning, Keslee Powers, Lilly Grace Kennington and Kylah McIlwain are seventh graders.

The middle school team has nine players on its roster, and McCrorey and head middle school coach Martha Hayes practice the two teams together.

“That allows me to give both teams everything that I want,” she said. “It lets all of them see exactly how I want things done and what I expect in the long run. That will give our program some consistency.”

The Red Devils lost their first two matches, but the improvement is already showing. Not only that, McCrorey said the support the school and the community has been “tremendous.”

“I want to teach them to love the game,” she added. “If I can do that, the rest will fall into place. I am also focused on improving every day and learning to work as a team every day.”

Great Falls Athletic Director Garrett Knight has also been pleased with the support the team has received.

“It has been overwhelming,” he said. “I can’t wait to see the attendance at our first home match.”

Although The Herald could not verify when the Great Falls program was discontinued initially, it’s clear Knight and principal Jamal Sanders have worked together to get this program back on track at Great Falls.

“When I interviewed for the job, I noticed that there was no volleyball program,” Knight added. “Getting volleyball back on the list of sports that we play was a top priority for me.”

Dr. Sanders is the type of administrator that wants as may programs as possible so that the maximum number of students can be involved in athletics, Knight said.

“We were both on the same page in getting the program restarted,” said Knight. “He wanted it as much or more than I did.”

The two worked to get it restarted last year, but could not make it happen.

“COVID held us back last year,” he added. “This year is a different story. We have a varsity and middle school team, and we are teaching volleyball in our PE programs.”

Getting the program off the ground required more than just hiring a coach and getting the players interested in playing.

“When we don’t have enough drivers, Dr. Sanders steps in and drives us,” Knight said. “He is very dedicated to seeing that our kids have as many opportunities as possible.”

A QUICK LOOK AT THE AREA REGIONS

Most teams are still playing non-region matches in preparation for the region matchups, which will begin for some teams next week. Region 4-2A has already started region play. Here’s what you need to know (as of online publication Wednesday morning).

Region 3-5A: Boiling Springs is 5-0 on the year. Fort Mill is 10-3, and Nation Ford, which has won three straight, is 6-3. Gaffney is 2-2, while Clover is 1-1.

Region 4-5A: Rock Hill, which has won four straight, is 5-2, while Blythewood is 3-4. Northwestern is 1-2, and Spring Valley is also 1-2. Ridge View is 0-3.

Region 3-4A: Catawba Ridge is 5-4, while South Pointe and York are 1-2. Indian Land is 0-1, and Lancaster has not played a match this season.

Region 4-3A: Chester is 1-1, while Keenan is 1-3. Fairfield Central is 0-1, and Mid-Carolina, the defending champion, is 0-3. Lower Richland has not played a match to date.

Region 4-2A: Last year’s champion North Central is 2-0 (1-0 in region play), and Andrew Jackson is 2-1 (1-0). York Prep is 3-1 (1-1), and Chesterfield is 1-2 (1-1). Central is 0-2 (0-2), Cheraw is 0-2 (0-0), and Buford has not played a match thus far.

Region 2-1A: Lewisville, which is much improved from a year ago, is 3-0, and Governor’s School is 0-1. Great Falls is 0-2, while CA Johnson is 0-4. McBee hasn’t played a match this season.

This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 8:00 AM.