Patrick Henry volleyball team reaches bracket finals in SCISA AA tournament
Patriots return entire roster next season
Estill – Patrick Henry Academy was unable to defend its SCISA AA volleyball state championship. The Patriots saw their season come to an end in the lower bracket final match, falling to The King’s Academy, the team they beat for the championship.
PHA head coach Mackenzie Goins doesn’t see the season as a disappointment. Far, far from it.
“As a whole, this team exceeded all expectations I had set for this season. After losing five senior starters and (the head) coach from a state championship team, I think most would agree this team made it much farther than anyone ever expected,” Goins said. “Of course, winning another state championship would have been great, but these girls overcame the odds and fought until the very last point.”
That’s right. Goins was in her first season as head coach after Belinda McCoy stepped down to take a similar position at Colleton Prep. With such a young team, Patrick Henry went 21-9-3 on the season and finished second in Region 2 behind eventual state champion Beaufort Academy.
Goins, who shared the Region Coach of the Year award, said the inexperience reared its head at times during the season.
“In my opinion, no team we played truly outplayed us,” she said. “Our losses came from our own errors due to the young and inexperienced players we have. As a first-year coach, I wasn't quite sure what I was walking into this past summer, but I could not be more proud of this group of girls and all of their accomplishments.
“They worked hard each day and learned so much in a short amount of time. I am looking forward to the future with this team and to continue to grow the volleyball program at PHA in the coming years.”
The Patriots, who will return their entire roster next season, were led by sophomores Sophie Westerndorf and Emilee Stanley, both of whom were first team all-region. Westendorf had 282 kills, 349 digs and 55 service aces. Stanley had 311 assists, 78 kills, 196 digs and 80 aces.
Eighth-grader Kinley Cook made the all-region second team. She had 174 kills, 317 digs and 61 aces. Juniors Lillian Lucas and Faith Mizell were honorable mention selections. Lucas had 246 assists, 77 kills, 176 digs and 42 aces. Mizell had 355 digs and 42 aces.
Eighth-grader Maura Mathis had 55 kills, 45 blocks and 27 aces, while freshman Mills Lucas had 13 kills, eight blocks and five aces.
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