Green Wave looks strong on the volleyball court
Matheus Lopes serves for the Summerville Boys Volleyball team
By Roger Lee
Summerville – Considering it is Summerville’s first season participating in boys’ volleyball things are going well for the Green Wave.
Summerville improved to 6-3 with a 2-0 mark in Region 7-AAAAA Sept. 27 with a 3-0 win over cross-town rival Ashley Ridge.
“We’ve hit the ground running,” Summerville coach Skyler Dennis said. “We are getting better and better which is expected since we’ve only been playing a month-and-a-half or so. We have played some good competition and I’m proud of the kids. They are doing a good job and this is one of the easiest teams I’ve had to coach. They are dedicated to the sport and are great kids.”
Dennis, who spent the last nine years as a teacher and volleyball coach in southwest Florida, was hired as the head coach for Summerville’s newest athletic program this Summer. He said starting a new program from scratch has been both challenging and exciting.
The team opened its inaugural season Aug. 28 with a sweep of Ashley Ridge and Stratford during a tri-match.
The Green Wave’s attack is led by captains TJ Neville and Shea Flynn. They are the only seniors on the team and both have club experience.
“TJ is one of the guys who pushed to start the program,” Dennis said. “They both have been fantastic as leaders.”
Sophomore setter Kerrick Pruitt also plays club ball. Prior to the season, a couple of other athletes with club experience moved to the area and joined the team.
“In volleyball the setter is kind of like the quarterback so Kerrick has also been a big contributor,” Dennis said. “Alex Mose is our Libero and despite being a freshman he is overall one of the better players on the team.”
Juniors Matheus Lopes and Jackson Guerrero and sophomore Nicholas Beddard add good size and athleticism for the squad, which has been strong at the net. Other members of the team are Soloman “Mona” Kamauu, Matthew Abercrombie, Mason Karns, Bennett Black, Lukash Klabnik, Hunter Scruggs, Campbell Pittman and Cyrus Anthony.
Summerville hosts May River at 6 p.m. Oct. 2 and Fort Dorchester at 7 p.m. Oct. 4.
Girls Volleyball
The Summerville Girls are also having a strong season.
The team improved to 5-5 with a 3-1 mark in the region with a win over crosstown rival Fort Dorchester Sept. 26. Summerville’s sole region loss came by a 3-1 margin to Ashley Ridge so it is still in contention for one of the region’s top two playoff seeds. The Green Wave’s other losses came to Academic Magnet, James Island, Wando and River Bluff.
“As a whole our team is playing well,” Summerville coach Rachel Page said. “We have played really tough teams competitively and once we can keep our level of play consistent in key match moments, we will start winning those close matches. We have a very solid team skill-wise, so the level of play will come with their experience together.”
Summerville’s two junior outside hitters are leading the attack with Drew Page up to 119 kills this season and Lily Parker up to 91. Junior middle hitter Deorri Gaines has 46 kills. Sophomore setter Tehani Mose has 152 assists while junior setter Emily Farless has 100.
Defensively, junior Libero Ansley Bennet has racked up 136 digs while Page has 70 digs and senior defensive specialist Ella Trimnal has 66. Junior middle blocker Lilly Rafferty is leading in blocks with 21.
Other members of the team are Molly Daugherty, Finley Dungan, Ellison Tyler and Haylee Sexton.
“We regularly play 10 of our 12 on the roster and the other two serve in a good many matches as well,” Coach Page said.
Summerville hosts a rematch with Ashley Ridge at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 9.
Wave Football
The Green Wave Football team improved to 6-0 on the season Sept. 29 with a 44-21 victory at Stratford. Junior quarterback Jaden Cummings completed touchdown passes to seniors Sheldon Glenn, Yannick Smith and Quintrelle Pettiford with the longest covering 77 yards. Summerville rushed for two other TDs and scored a defensive TD.
Cummings has completed 85 passes for more than 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Smith has made 27 receptions for more than 700 yards and 8 TDs. Pettiford has surpassed the 400-yard receiving mark and Glenn has surpassed the 200-yard receiving mark.
Senior running back Trae Green has rushed for more than 400 yards and 10 TDs. Junior running back Ashton Allen-Hawkins and Smith have both rushed for more than 100 yards and have multiple rushing TDs.
Through the first five games, linebacker Kayden Gaddist led Summerville in tackles with 43 while linebacker Ike Rutherford had 42. Evan Howell Smith, Jaiden Kelly, Julius Brown, Jacob Cotterill, Michael Woodfield and Ryland Mitchell are also among the team’s leading tacklers.
Brown led in tackles for a loss with 7 including 5.5 sacks. Kelly and Woodfield both had an interception during the first five weeks of the season.
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