By JAY W. BENNETT
Sports Writer
CHARLESTON – Musselman High School senior Ada McCoy was named captain of the inaugural Class AAAA all-state volleyball first team by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
“Well, she led the state in kills and we played the toughest schedule (highest strength rating on MaxPreps) in the state,” quipped Applemen boss Shawn Martz, who watched McCoy post a 44.3 kill percentage on 681 downed spikes while sporting a .282 hitting efficiency.
“Most teams knew where the ball was going and no one consistently stopped her. She averaged 5.5 kills per set. Most dominant offensive player in the state bar none.”
The senior also served at 86% and had 66 aces. McCoy, who made the first team in triple-A as a junior, had 591 serve-receives, 288 digs and 26 blocks.
The Eastern Panhandle also boasted a pair of first team honorees from state champion Hedgesville. The top-seeded Eagles of head coach Allison Whitford outlasted Morgantown in five sets.
“Our warm-up shirts and motto this year was ‘We over Me’ because we knew we had so many key players that would contribute to our success,” admitted coach Whitford.
“Our bench was extremely deep. It could be one player’s night to shine and the very next night a different player could stand out.”
Junior Parker Sutherland earned her first nod on the top unit. The Eagle served at 90% with 70 aces, had 121 blocks, chipped in 59 digs and a dozen assists while finishing with 330 kills (46.2K%, .331 H-E).
Brown, a junior who made first team Class AAA in 2023, joined her Eagle teammate. The 90% server had 19 assists, 35 blocks, 59 aces, 407 digs, 504 kills and hit .241 with a 39.7K%.
“With Parker and Gracie, they’ve been key contributors since their freshman year,” added coach Whitford. “They are always the ones up for whatever challenge I throw at them. Gracie is a tremendous, just an all-around natural athlete. She plays volleyball, basketball and softball and she stands out in all three of those. Parker has put in so many hours of hard work in the off-season. She has really taken her game to the next level over the last year and I think that continues into next season as well. We hadn’t won a state championship since 2002, so even qualifying for the first ever AAAA championship was an exciting step in our journey.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy with the tough AAAA competition that this year’s tournament held. It could have been anyone’s title to take home and I think that held true with so many four and five set matches that happened. We always talked about us being 16 strong. It was going to take all 16 players in order to win and that came into play when one of our outside hitters had pneumonia during the state tournament.”
“She wasn’t able to play in the first round at all so one of our juniors immediately stepped up and played that role for us on and off throughout the tournament, including in the championship against Morgantown. This group of girls is truly special and knowing they get to go down in history as the very first AAAA champions is such a sweet feeling that they deserve.”
Two names on last year’s first team in Class AAA found their way to the initial quad-A first team in Morgantown senior Audrey Buck and junior teammate Paige Brink, who had 412 kills (39.9K%, .273 H-E), 550 serve-receives, 228 digs, 33 assists and 24 blocks while serving at 88% with 59 aces.
Buck, who was lost to injury prior to the Mohigans’ Ohio Valley Athletic Conference 5A championship match, had 703 assists and only four ball-handling errors. A 94% server who had 50 aces, Buck also put down 68 kills, had 30 blocks and collected 205 digs.
Woodrow Wilson, which reached the state tournament before being ousted by Spring Valley, had a pair of senior teammates land on the first team thanks to Abby Dillon and Salia Harris, who had 531 kills (41.5K%, .314 H-E), 63 aces, 36 blocks, 174 digs and served at 90%.
Dillon, a two-time honoree on the first team in Class AAA, served at 98.4% with 51 aces, 57 kills, 439 digs as well as 1,111 assists with only eight errors.
Spring Valley, which had its season come to a close by Hedgesville in the semifinals, was represented by Lilly Adkins. The senior libero managed 19 kills, 66 aces as a 93.2% server, 85 assists along with 881 digs and 887 serve-receives.
The first team also features Mountain State Athletic Conference Player of the Year Baylee Smith of Cabell Midland and University senior Addison Kitzmiller.
Smith, who helped the Knights win their first MSAC crown and upset Musselman in the state quarterfinals, finished her senior year with 386 kills (50.7K%, .422 H-E), 28 aces, 113 blocks, 122 digs and 17 assists.
The Hawks, who lost to Morgantown at state, watched Kitzmiller have a near 42% kill rate, a .263 hitting efficiency with 336 downed spikes, 131 digs and 25 blocks to go with 38 aces as an 89% server.
Cabell Midland double-double machine Jilly Yost, a junior, was named captain of the second team. The Knight had 51 kills, 58 blocks, 64 aces, 325 digs and 1,206 assists with only 16 errors.
Joining Yost on the second team were George Washington senior Ava Katz, Spring Valley freshman Emma Edwards, Huntington senior Mallori-Dunn Martin, Musselman senior Alicia Miller, Parkersburg junior Kennedy Porter, Hurricane senior Layla Swint, Morgantown freshman Leah Greeny, Hedgesville senior Alexa Smith and University senior Katie Pilgrim.
Wooden plaques shaped as West Virginia that include the school name, player name, the WVSWA logo, award and year are available for all-state honorees. They can be purchased from the Bear Wood Company through WVSWA.org or bearwoodcompany.com
The Class AAAA All-State Volleyball Team as selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association
FIRST TEAM
Abby Dillon, Woodrow Wilson, SR
Ada McCoy, Musselman, SR (CAPTAIN)
Salia Harris, Woodrow Wilson, SR
Audrey Buck, Morgantown, SR
Lilly Adkins, Spring Valley, SR
Parker Sutherland, Hedgesville, JR
Baylee Smith, Cabell Midland, SR (MSAC POY)
Gracie Brown, Hedgesville, JR
Addison Kitzmiller, University, SR
Paige Brink, Morgantown, JR
SECOND TEAM
Jilly Yost, Cabell Midland, JR (CAPTAIN)
Ava Katz, George Washington, SR
Emma Edwards, Spring Valley, FR
Mallori Dunn-Martin, Huntington, SR
Alicia Miller, Musselman, JR
Kennedy Porter, Parkersburg, JR
Layla Swint, Hurricane, SR
Leah Greeny, Morgantown, FR
Alexa Smith, Hedgesville, SR
Katie Pilgrim, University, SR
Honorable Mention
Emily Maynard, Spring Valley; Ava Sayre, Parkersburg; Kate Williams, University; Sarah Monday, George Washington; Shyanne Hays, Parkersburg South; Avery Pyle, Hurricane; Zoe Pray, George Washington; London Baker, Woodrow Wilson; Brooke Snyder, Preston; Alyssa Abel, Buckhannon-Upshur; Lexi Irwin, Wheeling Park; Natalie Voithofer, University; Jada Fruit, Capital; Laila Campbell, Riverside; Sarah Hess, John Marshall; Ashley Fox, Musselman; Avery Ellis, Spring Valley; Katie Lawson, Cabell Midland; Samantha Stephens, Spring Mills; Karma Johnson, Oak Hill; Alden Jones, Huntington
