Easley High School varsity volleyball team at practice last week.
Jeff Holt | The Easley Progress
Joy Stewart knows how to build a program.
She served four years at Liberty High School as the varsity volleyball coach. Then, she went to Daniel High School and won a state championship in 2009.
She took a little break from coaching for her family.
“I took about an 11-year break because I wanted to watch my children,” said Stewart, at practice last week.
But this year – as the varsity volleyball coach at Easley High School – she is building up a solid program. Her varsity roster includes only two seniors for the Green Wave.
She does not have the towering front-row hitter who stands in at 6-foot or taller.
However, she’s got a group of volleyball players who have bought into the system and are all on board.
“This is my first year (at Easley) and they have worked incredibly hard,” said Stewart. “They really want to win and they’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do. I could not ask for harder-working girls.”
Continued Stewart, “When we go to tournaments, they never ease up. They give it everything from the first match in the morning to the last one in the evening. They completley amaze me. Their season (last year) didn’t go so well. They could’ve easily given up. They did the complete opposite.”
The Green Wave did defeat Pickens earlier in the season and took second-place at a 16-team tournament.
Stewart has former volleyball players doing well in the area. It might take a little time … but she’ll leave her mark at Easleu High School.
EHS 2024 Volleyball Roster
2 Catherine Barrington So.
3 Leah Adkins Jr.
4 Kate Kelley Jr.
5 Claire Bivens So.
6 Abbe Starnes Jr.
7 Abi Summer Jr.
8 Mae Ellis Jr.
10 Ansley Whitfield Jr.
11 Rylee Phelps So.
13 Mallory Allison Sr.
16 Abbie Allison Sr.
17 McKenzie Karr Jr.
18 Addison Campbell Sr.
20 Ellie McCoy Fr.
21: Madison Davis
Head Coach: Joy Stewart
The Easley 2024 volleyball schedule:
Thurs., Sept. 12 (7 p.m.): MAULDIN (Conference Game)
Tues., Sept. 17 (7 p.m.): at Hillcrest (Conference Game)
Thurs., Sept. 19 (7 p.m.): TL HANNA (Conference Game)
Tues., Sept. 24 (7 p.m.): at Greenwood (Conference Game)
Thurs., Sept. 26 (7 p.m.): at JL Mann (Conference Game)
Sat., Sept. 28 (TBA): at Indian Land Tournament
Tues., Oct. 1 (7 p.m.): at Woodmont (Conference Game)
Thurs., Oct. 3 (7 p.m.): GREENVILLE
Woodside standouts: The Easley volleyball team faced their toughest opponent of the season last Thursday night in a loss to the Woodside Wildcats.
But for Woodside, it was mainly the 1-2 punch of front-row hitters Symone Wyatt and Mallory Mizell that just took over the match. Wyatt is a senior and has verbally committed to continue her volleyball career at Anderson University. Wyatt has been playing on varsity since her seventh-grade year and she’s a captain this season as a freshman.
“We are winning as a team and we have so much talent,” said Wildcats coach Haleigh Horgan, whose team climbed to 9-1 on the season and 2-0 in the region.
Reach Jeff Holt at 864-855-0355.