Camden volleyball chasing another region title

By Dennis Brunson

        hssr.com Associate Editor

        Camden – After playing for the AAA state championship last season, the Camden High School volleyball team was off to an 11-4 start as head coach Paige Wilson started her fourth decade in charge.

        The Bulldogs have played in six state championship matches under Wilson’s tutelage, bringing home the crown twice. However, perhaps an even more impressive figure is that Camden has won the region title 29 times in her first 30 seasons.

        If they were going to make it 30 in 31 though, the Bulldogs had a little work to do. They started 7-1 in Region 3-AAAA, the lone loss coming to A.C. Flora by a 3-2 score. The Falcons were undefeated in seven matches with five region matches remaining to four for Camden.

        If Camden is to win the region, it will likely come down to a home match against Flora on October 21. However, Wilson isn’t really worried about any of that at this moment.

        “This year's team has progressed well with a new group, showing improvement as the season progresses,” Wilson said. “The team works well together and they are versatile in the positions that they can play.”

        Camden returned six starters from last year’s 26-5 team. They are led by twin sister seniors Aryanna Connell and Nicolette Connell.

Aryanna, a AAA All-State selection last year, had a team high 202 kills as a middle hitter. She also led the team in service aces with 32 and blocks with 36. She was second in digs with 132.

Nicolette, a libero, led in digs with 144 and serves received with 201 while committing just 13 receiving errors. She had 58 kills and 17 aces.

Kaitlyn Clyburn, a senior setter, was leading in assists with 247. She had 81 kills, 31 aces, 15 blocks and 98 digs.

Seniors Peyton Sanders and Jazira Meagley and junior Leah Hendrix each started last year. They are sharing time this year, Sanders with sophomore Aubrey Thompson, Meagley with sophomore Kaelyn Johnson and Hendrix with freshman Ryan Neal.

Sanders had 30 aces and 82 digs, Meagley had 95 digs and 17 aces, Hendrix 114 kills and 39 digs, Neal 60 digs and 125 assists, Thompson 16 kills and nine blocks and Johnson 14 blocks.

The rest of the roster includes juniors Marley Vincent and Anaiah Cain and sophomores Tristin Ware and Lilli Mae Hall.

Wilson believes this team has the potential to make noise in the postseason once again.

“We have the talent and potential to make a strong playoff run and getting back to the state championship again this year is certainly our goal,” she said.

CAMDEN FOOTBALL STARTS 4-2

Camden got off to a 4-2 overall start and a 1-1 record in region play. The Bulldogs have been trying to find themselves offensively and have been showing steady improvement.

Quarterback Wyatt Thompson was leading the team in rushing with 562 yards and four touchdowns on 97 carries. He had completed 49 of 87 passes for 566 yards and four touchdowns.

Tylin Drakeford was Thonpson’s favorite target with 27 catches for 412 yards and four touchdowns. Drakeford also had 16 carries for 106 yards and two scores and had thrown a 42-yard touchdown pass.

Nazi Boykin had 308 rushing yards and four scores on 72 carries.

Logan Freeman led the derfense in tackles with 59 ½ while Evan Presbot had 48 ½. Tanner Bracey had 5 ½ sacks and eight quarterback pressures to lead the team. Dontrell Willis led in tackles for loss with 10 ½. Kavon Edwards had three interceptions.