Waverly falls to Sheridan, eyes bright future after building foundation of success

Derrick Webb, Staff Writer

Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.

ATHENS — Waverly’s volleyball future is ultra-bright.

That’s a fact. 

When Aleah Rhodes took over the program last fall, the Tigers promptly went 12-6 and fought until the very end of a five-set loss to Fairfield Union to end their season.

This year? They took the next step forward, winning the program’s first sectional title in 10 seasons and pushing Division II power Sheridan to the brink in Monday’s season-ending loss.

While the 25-13, 25-17, 25-22 loss will sting, the foundation for a successful future has been laid.

After all, nobody expected Rhodes’ group to be in Athens on Monday in the first place.

“These guys have put Waverly volleyball back on the map. We haven’t been to this point in ten years,” Rhodes said. “It’s tough being in Division II, especially when you’re a smaller school like we are. They have a lot to be proud of. We’re the eleven seed. We’re not supposed to be here tonight.”

This past season didn’t start like the Tigers may have expected it to.

Waverly dropped three of its first four contests, falling to Miami Trace, South Webster and Wheelersburg.

But they stayed the course and, eventually, righted the ship. It led to a 16-win season and a redemption victory over Miami Trace — a four-set win in a Division II sectional final.

PHOTOS: Images from Waverly’s Division II district semifinal loss

“It’s just been the team culture,” Rhodes said. “Over the first few games, it wasn’t what we had been working on. But now, we’ve got girls that didn’t know how to be leaders that are leading now. They finally had that next-play mentality and they came in and played like a family. That’s something that’s changed for us big-time.”

One of those leaders that Rhodes is referring to is unquestionably senior Kelli Stewart, who isn’t just the team’s best all-around player but one of the best in the entire region.

Monday’s loss marked the end of Stewart’s high school volleyball career. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be remembered for quite some time to come.

During her time as a Tiger, Stewart set school records for kills and digs with 1,078 and 1,061, respectively. She’s also the only player in program history to hit 1,000 in both stat categories.

“Kelli was with me in my first year of coaching with our seventh grade group,” Rhodes said. “We’ve been together a long time. So this is an emotional night. She’s just an animal. There’s no other word. I would definitely, one-hundred percent say she’s the best player in Waverly history and the best player I’ve seen in Pike County, honestly.”

Stewart is one of three seniors who played their last match Monday — the other two being starters Bailey Vulgamore and Izzy Smith.

Those shoes will be hard to fill. But the legacy they leave will remain. That’s a good sign for Rhodes and the trio’s teammates as they try to get back to the district level in 2023.

“We’re super excited. We’ve got a tough junior high team that was undefeated all season long and they watch these girls,” Rhodes said. “We had a crowd that showed up tonight that had to make an hour and twenty minute drive. These little girls in the stands think our girls are volleyball gods. It’s just cool to see. We’re at a point we want to be at now. It feels nice.”

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