August has barely even ended and volleyball season is already in full swing. This year the Raptors welcomed numerous new freshmen who make up the majority of JV’s 16 person team along with sophomores from last year. Varsity’s much smaller team is made up of juniors Evie Otis, Mary Katherine Kerrigan, Maddie Nyugen, and Molly Tippy. This year’s seniors are Abby Sutterlin, Dessie Ann Nietart, Emma Grace Pittard, Julia Spencer, Libby Jaskwich, Lily Peterson, Megan Gray, and myself, Clara Cullum. 

So far our record is 5-1 in games against mostly teams from outside of our conference such as the AAAAA schools Wando, Ashley Ridge, and James Island as well as matches against AAA competitors Bishop England and Berkeley. Perhaps most exciting for the ladies so far this season was a pre-season joint scrimmage against both Bishop England and Wando on August 15th. The ladies faced off against Wando, just narrowly losing in two sets with scores coming as close as 24-26, but then defeating the Bishops in 2 sets, securing this coveted dub. 

The Raptors also competed in the Porter Gaud tournament on August 30th-31st and performed skillfully, winning in our bracket after facing off against teams from around South Carolina including Hilton Head, Porter, Wando, Bishop England, and Branchville. Over these two days we played hard, working around obstacles such as missing team members due to a pre-match car wreck involving two players (with no injuries involved, thankfully). Despite this roadblock, the girls defeated two out of three teams, which put us in a good position for the second day. After a slow start Saturday morning, the ladies pulled through winning all of their afternoon games, coming out on top for the bracket. 

We are enthusiastic about our performance so far. As a newly minted AAA school, our victories against much larger teams with more resources, coaches, and players have fueled talks of a possible state victory this season. There are teams in Magnet’s region which must be conquered before moving on to Lower State: Hanahan, BE, Waccamaw, and Georgetown. 

Be sure to come support the girls at their Senior Night on October 8th against Hanahan! 

2019 Raptors Volleyball Schedule

Home Games

Tuesday Sept. 17 VS Manning

Thursday Sept. 26 VS Waccamaw

Thursday Oct. 1 VS Georgetown

Tuesday Oct. 8 VS Hanahan

Thursday Oct. 10 VS Bishop England

Away Games

Tuesday Sept. 10 @ James Island (5:30pm)

Thursday Sept. 19 @ Hanahan 

Saturday Sept. 21 @ BE (Tournament) 

Tuesday Sept. 24 @ BE 

Wednesday Oct. 2 @ Oceanside

Tuesday Oct. 15 @ Waccamaw

Thursday Oct. 17 @ Georgetown

JV GAMES BEGIN AT 5pm VARSITY BEGINS AT 6:30