FAIRLEA, WV- After finishing just one game shy of a state tournament berth last season, the Greenbrier East Spartans volleyball team enters 2023 with arguably the highest expectations of any sport at the school this year.
Head coach Matt Sauvage is suited up for his 21st year on the volleyball sidelines. He was an assistant for three years and will be in his 18th year as the leader this season. He also doubles as the James Monroe boys’ basketball coach and has won two consecutive state titles there. He has been as successful as any coach in recent years, and no one knows his team better than he does. He believes this group of girls are going to be talked about for a while.
“This year’s team is very focused,” Sauvage said.
“They are looking to do great things. We have a lot of returning players from last year, and expectations are high going into this season. They are athletic and skilled, and we truly feel that we are going to make a lot of noise in the state this year,” he added.
East returns eight starters from last year’s team and lost graduated senior, Josi Ervin, an all-conference selection.
Dia Sauvage, Gracie Gumm, Peyton Barker, Jenna Groves, Mollie Pack, Hailey Ervin, Alexis Stack, Mackenna McClure are the returnees with the talent and experience to carry the squad to new heights. Dia Sauvage, a first team all-state selection last year and daughter of the head coach, was named the best player in West Virgina a couple weeks ago by StadiumTalk.com and is a probable top-100 player in the nation. Gumm (special honorable mention all-state in 2022) and Stack (special honorable mention all-state in ’22) provide other star power qualities. Hailey Ervin was named honorable mention all-state a year ago, and Barker and Pack each received second team all-conference honors, so there is no denying East’s chances to do something special.
The Spartans will also have good depth with a plethora of players such as
Regan Rink, Reagan Cline, Karma Jacobs, Riley Duncan, and softball all-stater, Taylor Boswell.
These girls are so much more than volleyball players,” coach Sauvage stated.
“Their character is top notch, and their faith is undeniable,” he said.
Dia Sauvage, Gumm, Barker, and Boswell will be the “senior leaders” according to the coach.
Besides Sauvage, the other coaches are Taelor Lazo and Abbey Anderson. Lazo is a former middle blocker for the Spartans and is entering her seventh season as assistant coach. It is the debut season for Anderson who was a libero for East just few years ago.
Campbell Bundy, Adria Ratliff, Sydney Norman, Norah Ambler, Kenna Humphreys, Aundraya Simmons, Ciara Shepherd, and Emily McClure round out the roster for East, and coach Sauvage is looking forward to their development as the season progresses and as they get more time on the court.
“I’m excited to see the development of these players,” the coach said.
Finally, as good as the girls are on the floor, they also excel in the classroom, and coach Sauvage may take more pride in that fact than their actual play.
“Their GPA last year was 4.22,” coach Sauvage stated.
“According to AVCA, we were 17th in the nation in high school girls GPA,” he concluded with a smile.
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