Bamberg Ehrhardt volleyball eyeing region championship

By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSSR

Bamberg – The old saying ‘goes the more things change the more they stay the same’ and it applies to the Bamberg-Ehrhardt Volleyball team as Lauren Etheridge took the reins from Deanna Merchant and the Lady Red Raiders are again among the top-class A volleyball teams in the state.

The Lady Red Raiders currently sit at 13-1-8 overall and they currently sit a top region 7A. They have two region matches left and if they win those they will reach their first goal on the season of winning the region and two home matches when the playoffs start.

“ I am proud of our play so far this season. We set have high expectations for our team. We always prioritize scheduling with high level teams to help expose our strengths and weaknesses and push us to improve,” said coach Etheridge. “We have been strong at the net and in our service game this year and we are always working to improve defensively.”

The Lady Red Raiders are led by senior starters Brantley Brown, Kathleen Evans, Cailyn Youmans, and Addi Jameson. Youmans has 71 kills on the year as part of a front line that has 230 kills on the year.

Evans and Brown have been the teams top servers and have a 30% ace percentage with Evans having severed a time high 229 times.

Jameson is the teams libero and defensive specialist. She is not afraid to hit the floor as her team high 54 digs would attest.

Rounding out the starting lineup are juniors Briaunjenai McMillan and E’zariah Williams and sophomore Raelynn Jarrett. Williams leads the team in kills with 72.

Coming off the bench to provide valuable minute are seniors Nalanie Eckels, Neaeha Ricks and junior Shantell Black.

The Lady Red Raiders have region matches against Allendale Fairfax and rival Branchville as well as two non-region matches against Silver Bluff and one of the top AAA teams in Orangeburg-Wilkinson.

“After coaching all of these ladies on JV and many of them in club, I am honored to be working with them at the varsity level! It is my goal to send the seniors off with a season to remember,” said coach Etheridge.