by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
(804) 240-2191
First-year outfits usually get off to modest starts.
One particular volleyball club was having none of that.
USPAV or the more lengthy U-Turn Sports Performance Academy Volleyball 18-and-under girls team, is looking for just as lengthy a run in the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic Tournament.
Play starts Wednesday, July 1 in Miami, Florida, but the 11 ladies and coaching staff will go down a bit earlier for a brief vacation before trying to take home the title.
The talented squad consists of mostly ladies from the Richmond area, but touched Fredericksburg and the Tidewater area to get a few players.
It all has cooked up into a winning batch, as USPAV took the Old Dominion Region Qualifier to gain entry to Miami.
“It’s amazing. This is my first time being on a team this experienced and this good,” Midlothian rising senior Valerie Carroll said. “The fact that we made it to nationals, it’s just amazing to me. I’m so happy.”
So is head coach Don Greshman, who has seven of his 11 players committed or going to college to continue their career.
One is Deep Run rising senior Mallory Woolridge, who is a U.S. Women’s Junior National Team member, as elite an honor as you can receive as a high-schooler.
Woolridge will attend Virginia in 2010, and was actually committed to reigning national champion Penn State before choosing the Wahoos to stay closer to home.
The four uncommitted players will play at the next level as well. They have a while left to make up their mind.
One rising senior is Morgan Freeman, from Cape Henry Collegiate in Virginia Beach.
She’s already cast her lot with the University of Connecticut, and missed her prom to prep for this tournament.
“It’s been a tough journey, but we’re happy about it,” Freeman said. “It’s in Miami, so it’s a good reward.”
Valerie Carroll, Midlothian, Class of 2010, undecided
Mallory Carter, Cosby, Class of 2009, Randolph-Macon
Liz Drewry, Mills Godwin, Class of 2009, Francis Marion
Morgan Freeman, Cape Henry Collegiate, Class of 2010, Connecticut
Maggie Murphy, Mills Godwin, Class of 2010, undecided
Kristi Richardson, Hermitage, Class of 2010, undecided
Ellen Smethurst, Covenant, Class of 2009, Mary Washington
Lindsay Swan, Fredericksburg Christian, Class of 2009, Hartford
Kaitlynn Wickersham, Manchester, Class of 2010, undecided
Gretchen Wilson, Midlothian, Class of 2009, UNC Wilmington
Mallory Woolridge, Deep Run, Class of 2010, Virginia
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