Last Saturday the 19th, the Hidden Valley Varsity Volleyball team won the state championship match at the Salem Civic Center. This championship is the first title that the team has won since 2016.
After winning regionals in a four-set match against Christiansburg, the Lady Titans went on to the state championship, playing against Grafton High School for the title. The game went four sets, with scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-27, and 25-19.
Some highlights of this game included: Caleigh Ponn with 24 kills, 4 aces, 12 digs, and 28 receptions, Sophie Arnold with 24 kills and 3 aces, Calli Anderson with 4 aces, 10 digs, and 41 assists, Lauren Whittaker with 24 digs and 23 receptions, and Maddi Carter with 19 receptions.
When interviewed, both Caleigh and Lauren were extremely excited about their championship. Caleigh (11) says, “I have always been in the gym, so I have always been looking at other people winning [a title], but I never had a chance to win one myself. It’s just really cool to win with all my friends that I have been playing with forever and the seniors I love so much. The whole experience was so exciting and fun.”
Lauren (12) commented, “It’s so surreal to have won a title and I can’t put into words what it means to me. I don’t think it really has sunk in yet; being able to rebound from last year and achieve this my senior year is awesome.”
Players Caleigh Ponn, Sophie Arnold, and Calli Anderson were selected for the first team all-state, and varsity head coach Haley Quesenberry was announced as the Coach of the Year.
Lauren Whittaker, Caleigh Ponn, and Calli Anderson all reached career milestones in the final games of the playoffs. Lauren reached her 1000th career dig after the semifinals game, and both Caleigh and Calli reached their 1000th and 500th career digs respectively after the states game. Caleigh was excited about reaching this achievement, remarking that it was “really fun, and a really cool experience to have had achieved in my junior season since I reached 1000 kills the year before (sophomore season).”
The ladies will be preparing in the off-season to win a back-to-back championship next year. Lauren, who will be graduating this year, said that winning again “is up to them next year since my class is graduating, but the team is only losing four people. I think that they will do fine and that they can win another title.”
Caleigh, who is in the following class (2025), commented, “Since we won this year I think it was a good pressure reliever on the team, and even though the season just ended, most people are excited for next season and hopefully we achieve this honor again next year and keep growing as players and people.”
