Whitwell, Garnet Valley belt out another winning tune
CONCORD >> Normally, Garnet Valley plays a stock version of the national anthem over the public address system before its home volleyball games, but this time, first-year coach Greg Wood wanted to change things up for Wednesday’s Central League showdown with Ridley, which the Jaguars won, 3-0, to remain undefeated.
He asked Dolce Whitwell, one of the eight seniors Wood has on his roster, to do a live version of the Star Spangled Banner.
“We’re just trying to mix it and change the culture in here,” said Wood, who took over for Mark Clark. “We’re doing walk-in music with the announcement of the players. We’re trying to bring more life to it, trying to engage the community as much as we can to get some more kids in here. That’s part of our future pipeline of just building this program.”
Whitwell agreed, even though she was a little apprehensive about the prospect.
“I’m in the choir and I sing a lot, but I don’t often sing (solo) in public,” Whitwell said.
Two lines into the anthem, Whitwell’s nerves got the best of her. She stopped, looked at Wood and said, “I can’t do this.”
Wood took a partial page out of the Mo Cheeks playbook and helped Whitwell get through the tough moment. Wood not did sing with Whitwell, as Cheeks did when Natalie Gilbert stumbled while singing the national anthem before a game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder at the Rose Garden in 2003. Instead, Wood put his arm around Whitwell and offered her the encouragement she needed to continue.
“I wasn’t going to sing,” Wood said. “You can quote me on that. I wasn’t going to do that. I just told her, ‘You got this, Dolce. You sound beautiful,’ and she did. She was amazing.”
After she gathered herself, Whitwell started over again and belted out a perfect rendition of the national anthem, and received thunderous applause when she finished.
“It just got in my head a little bit,” Whitwell said.
The same can be said for the Green Raiders. Ridley gave Garnet Valley (9-0 overall, 6-0 Central League) all it could handle before bowing 29-27, 25-17, 25-22.
“They were scrappy,” Wood said of the Green Raiders. “They played scrappy. The reality is that we’re going to get everyone’s best game, based on reputation and who we are, and we just have to be prepared. We can’t take plays or sets off, which is what we’ve been doing. But I’m super proud of the girls.”
It’s a reputation built on results. Garnet Valley won the PIAA Class 4A title in 2016, reached the state semifinals last year and is ranked No. 3 in the state by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association. The Jags have only those three sets all year and have not dropped a set in their last five matches.
Yet a kill here or a dig there, especially in the first and third sets, and the outcome could have been completely different. Ridley (6-6, 4-2) overcame a six-point deficit in the first set to push the Jaguars to the limit before a kill by Samantha Mann and a dink from Emma Rokosky gave GV the two-point cushion it needed to take the set.
Ridley overcame a 10-point deficit in the second set to make it interesting. The third set was a back-and-forth battle that included 14 ties and seven lead changes before the Jaguars scored five of the last seven points to break a 20-all deadlock and clinch the victory.
A lot of that had to do with Ridley’s defense. The Green Raiders made the Jaguars work for every point. Abbie Herrin had nine blocks. Madison Vinovrski recorded six blocks. Melanie June racked up 22 digs. Shannon Glacken had 18 digs to go with 11 assists. Angela April led the attack with 15 kills.
“We worked all week for this game,” Ridley coach Gianna Jones said. “We drilled balls at practice for a good two days to improve on our game and get ready for the strong Garnet Valley line. I’m very proud of the way my team played.”
Garnet Valley had just a little too much, thanks to big games from Mann, Ally Hartney, All-Delco setter Rachel Cain and Whitwell. Mann had another strong game at the net with 11 kills and six blocks. Hartney racked up 10 kills, 10 blocks, six aces and four digs. Cain handed out 32 assists and recorded 19 digs. Whitwell collected five kills, five digs and one ace after she calmed down from singing the national anthem.
“I was just a little nervous,” Whitwell said.
