Generals bring in new coach, have same expectations

WEST LAFAYETTE —The Ridgewood volleyball team is two years removed from a trip to the state final four.

And they’re one year removed from a 21-2 regular season that ended with a disappointing loss in sectionals.

But things have changed in the Generals’ camp — not the winning tradition, but on the coaching staff. Former junior varsity coach Brenda McCoy left her first head coaching job at Newcomerstown to come back where it all started for her.

McCoy, played and coached at Ridgewood, so this isn’t much of a change for her. She also has coached most of her players at one point in their careers.

“It’s good to be back,” McCoy said. “I feel very fortunate to coach such a great group of girls. We have a lot of talent this year and a lot of returning experience,”

At the head of that talent is senior and All-Ohio first-team outside hitter, Laura Crawford, who has been fighting severe patellar tendinitis all summer long.

“I’m excited because it’s senior year and we have to lead the team,” she said. “I didn’t want to miss the whole summer, but there were a lot people who stepped in when I was gone.”

But now with Crawford back, the front line, which McCoy thinks is the most talented group, is almost at full health.

With fellow senior Allie Dobson there at middle hitter, the Generals are just waiting on the return of junior Autumn Brown, who is suffering from a back injury.

“Having those injuries has forced us to bring some other people up, and I’m glad we did because it’s made our bench stronger,” McCoy said.

The Generals’ team is made up of a good balance of experience and young talent. They have three seniors in Dobson, Crawford and libero Morgan McDorman; three juniors; two sophomores; and three freshmen.

“It’s kind of like we have a new team, but just in brand new positions,” McDorman said.

“We are in a unique situation because we have so many players who play in so many situations,” McCoy said. “We finally feel like we have a good combination on the floor with a good rotation that seems to be clicking.”

The keys to the Generals clicking on and off the court are the three seniors.

“Their leadership is just outstanding in terms of making the other girls feel accepted and kind of being their big sisters,” McCoy said.

“We are the head of the pack we won’t be here next year and every game counts,” Dobson said.

The Generals are 1-0 after beating West Muskingum to open the season Aug. 27.

After a week off, they will get back in action, as they head to Hiland on Thursday.

“Last year, I feel like when we played teams that weren’t as high caliber as us, we would drop our level of play,” Crawford said. “We played West M and they definitely weren’t as high caliber as us and we did not drop our level of play. We just took care of business, and that’s what we need to do with everybody this year.”

“Every time we play Hiland, we play around with them and go past 25 points,” Dobson said. “We just need to keep the hammer on them.”

After a disappointing finish last year, they are searching for more this time around.

“Our first goal is to win the IVC,” McCoy said. “They are always talking about that, and we’ve talked about our long term goal, as far as having a deep tournament run.”

cteaguerob@gannett.com

740-295-3442

Twitter: @cj_teague