Herod likes development of TSA volleyball team

By Dennis Brunson

         hssr.com Associate Editor

        Dalzell – Gwen Herod has seen the good, not so good and pretty much what she expected from her Thomas Sumter Academy volleyball team this season.

           “The answer is yes to all of those,” was Herod’s response when asked if her team has played up to, below or above her expectations. “We’ve exceeded it in some cases, come up short in others and met expectations in others.”

Herod is hoping the Generals’ start in SCISA Region 1-AAA is the sign of good things to come. TSA opened with a pair of wins, beating Clarendon Hall 3-2 and Calhoun Academy 3-1.

“What we lacked early in the year was confidence.” Herod said. “Opening with two wins in the region, I hope that allowed us to gain confidence and roll with it.”

Thomas Sumter returned six starters from last season, one which was not successful, according to Herod.

“We were very inexperienced,” she said. “We put in a lot of work over the summer, and I felt like we’d have a much better season this year.”

Five of the returning starters are seniors in Anna Luzzi, Hannah Burnside, Molleigh Ross, Clara Ann McCaskill and Sylvia Burrows. The other starter is junior Omnaa Patel.

The rest of the Generals’ 13-player roster is all juniors – Carolina French, Ronia Sanders, Lucy Gore, Sydnie Shaffer, Samara Word, McKayla Rayzor and Sophia Fackleman.

Herod, who has been TSA’s head coach for 14 years, said her favorite thing about this team is its depth.

“I’ve got a lot of strength on the bench,” she said. “In the past, I haven’t had the strength that I have on the bench. I attribute that to a lot of the hard work we put in over the summer. Anyone on this team could come in and play at any time.”

Thomas Sumter beat Calhoun by the scores of 25-14, 18-25, 25-15, 25-19. The balance Herod speaks of shows up in the statistics. Luzzi had three aces, one kill and three assists, McCaskill had 10 assists, Burnside had six kills and three aces, Rayzor had two kills and two aces, Ross had three kills and six aces, Patel had 14 digs and Burrows had seven kills and four blocks.

“I think we have a real chance to make a little run at the beach this year, I really do,” Herod said in reference to the state tournament scheduled for October 18-19 in Myrtle Beach. “There are moments where this team plays beautiful volleyball. The vision of the court continues to get better I know we have the talent to make a run. I hope we can keep working hard.”