Photo Credit : Patti Goins

The Hill – A great deal of life has taken place since September 21st when Carroll County Volleyball 🏐 dropped a thrilling five setter down at Gate City. The Lady 👩 Cavaliers hosted GCHS Saturday and earned a split on the season series by defeating the Blue Devils 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 20-25, 25-20).

Two weeks ago CCHS fell into a giant hole 🕳, dropping both of the opening sets before storming back to force a fifth set. The team would eventually drop the hard fought fifth set but the team appeared to gel as a unit that afternoon.

Fast Forward to this past Saturday afternoon, where the Lady Cavaliers hit the ground running. It’s probably fair to mention that it was the Gate City players that were dealing with the side effects of the 2+ hour Bus 🚌 ride.

Ali Wright started the first set off with a bang as the Sophomore finished off the first, third, fourth, fifth and six points. Gate City was not going to accept defeat easily and bounced back to tie the opening set at 10-10.

CCHS continued to take the game to Gate City and when the dust settled on the opening set the Lady Cavaliers led 1-0 (25-16).

Carroll County ( 8-7, 4-3) was able to ride the combination of Laiken Burnett ( 37 assists, 15 Digs) and Wright (22 Kills, 10 Digs) to capture a competitive second set 25-21. Gate City is loaded with big hitters so the ability to Dig out the ball is crucial to having success.

Gate City was able to capture the third set 25-20 but with the leadership of Senior Aza Petty and Junior Callie Harris the team was able to close out the match in the fourth set.

Petty was the third player to record a double – double for Head Coach Cindy Edwards, finishing with 13 Digs and 10 Kills.

While Gate City is not the same team that has a trophy case full of State Championship hardware, they are a very talented team with a great deal of size. The Lady Cavaliers continue to succeed 💪 because of their drive, teamwork and never giving up.

The team is in the middle of a four match in six day stretch plus there’s the contest versus Marion that needs to be rescheduled. CCHS will travel up to Pulaski County Monday night before returning to The Hill Tuesday night and finally out to Buchanan on Thursday night to face James River.

Carroll County Junior Varsity started their match out on Saturday with a great deal of confidence. Coach Jason Petty’s squad trailed 19-11 in the opening set before catching fire 🔥.

The run 🏃‍♂️ was 13-5 and it allowed Carroll County to tie the match at 24.

Aaliyah Hampton fired two Aces to end the run and Ellie Heflin (Kill) and Clara DeHaven (Dig) made big plays during the stretch. Gate City went on to close out the opening set 26-24.

As well as the Lady Cavaliers played in the opening set, they fell down 8-0 in the second set and never recovered. Katie Beasley gave the team their seventh point with a Kill but that would be the final one in the set.

The Hill – On a day where so many new things were on display for the first time, it was incredibly fun to see the Softball family 👪 reconnect with its past.

Yes, there was a 7-inning Softball game won 🏆 by team 2 but the details were not the lead story. Getting together for a few hours and sharing some laughs was the bigger focus point on a day where the Softball community raised money 💰 for those in our Area that have been devastated by the recent Hurricane 🌀.

The challenge for me was to navigate the festivities from start to finish from the Press Box and the highlight being getting to work alongside my Friend Kevin Burress.

Friends would be a common denominator for the afternoon. Our umpires were the two gentlemen who we call Casey & Combs. The men of the hour in regards to the drive 🚗 to building the Indoor Hitting Center. The third member of their Staff has dual citizenship between the programs as Adam Nester is both on the Baseball ⚾️ staff and the Son of Rick and Donna Nester.

We had younger Softball players, the Lady 👩 Cavaliers to be, selling 50/50 tickets 🎟 throughout the afternoon and they raised a pot of $280.00. Then a great act of kindness occurred when the winner 🏆donated her half of the money 💰 back 👏. Thank you Ms Spencer !

Not trying to list folks in any particular order here, just seeing if my memory is still intact after the weekend.

We held a Ceremonial First Pitch for any members of the 2015 State Championship team who could attend and we had three participants. Alexis Dalton, Katie Belton and Hannah Bourne headed to the mound together to toss out First pitches to three of the current players.

Next group to give props to is the current Lady 👩 Cavaliers Softball players. They were tasked with a variety of chores from start to finish, including playing the field during the Home Run Derby. They did a terrific job filling their roles throughout.

The Home Run Derby led off the official events as nine former players took their turn at trying hard to clear the fence while Coach Nester tossed the pitches.

Jena Davison (2017), Katie Belton (2018), Kristin Webb (2003), Misty Carson (2007) and Laiken Burress (2019) each joined a quartet of players from the Class of 2023 – Lauren Alley, Alyssa Nunn, Christian Goad and Macie Adkins for the Home Run Derby.

Katie Belton captured the Trophy 🏆after the Sudden Death portion of the competition. Lauren Alley did send one of the fence in the opening round and all involved had fun swinging for the fences!

Eleven current Student Athletes raised money 💰 for the Indoor Hitting Center through selling sponsorships to local businesses. Four Softball players and seven Baseball ⚾️ players sold enough that they were entered into a drawing for an Amazon Gift Card. Mason Q was the name on the ticket 🎟 that I pulled out of the bucket. Congratulations 👏👏👏 to all 11 that raised enough money to be entered into the drawing !!!

Velvet Creed Leonard was out and about throughout the afternoon. Kind Lady 👩 was taking photos 📷 from start to finish. Here is the one from the Home Run Derby !

Velvet has her entire days work out and available on Facebook !!

Here’s one that Laynie-Jo Leonard took of her Cool Mom with some of her Friends…

The dedicated Staff manning the Snack Bar :

The Toblers handling the Gate…

I will actually sneak one or two of the handful that I took early on before there was talking to do…

Next up – recognizing the Crowd. Thank You to all that came out to support both their Loved ones ❤ and the program ! It was greatly appreciated by everyone who was participating. Special Thanks to those who interacted with me when I needed the help!

Tammy Quesenberry was out there trying to help sell baked goods and our Principal Mr Chuck Thompson was part of the crowd as well.

Now for the Alumni players in the game above the nine players who competed in the Home Run Derby.

The number should be 10 and I will apologize in advance if I get any of the Spelling wrong as its not a typed list. If there is a mistake, PLEASE let me know so I can correct it.

Ingle Miller, Jaclyn Gallimore, Johanah Gallimore and Deana Burcham eached played on Team #1.

Rebecca Harris, Eden Harrison, Regan Halsey, Jessica Martin and Hannah Bourne eached played on Team #2

Tossed that last one in just for Fun as it helps document the effort.

Coach Nester announced that next September 👀 will be the target for the next Alumni game.

Wednesday night (October 9th) will be the Father 👨 Daughter Softball game starting around 6:30. Coach has plans to grill burgers 🍔 and Hot Dogs 🌭 after the game !

Now, hopefully you know a little bit more about our afternoon of Fun at Cavalier Park ! Please report any aches and pains later today…

Will close it up with six more from Velvet…

Have yourself a Blessed Day !

Full name : Raylee Page Goins
Height : 5’6
Parents : Scotty & Patti Goins

Class – Freshman
Birthplace : Northern Hospital of Surry County, North Carolina

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First Up is Raylee :

I’m honestly so grateful for my amazing support system! My team has always had my back, cheering me on through all the ups and downs. Whenever I mess up on the court, my teammates are right there to lift me up and remind me that we’re all in this together.

It really feels like I have a second family that believes in me no matter what!

Being on varsity this year has been such an incredible experience, and I can see how much I’ve improved! I’m learning something new every day and getting better with each game.

I also want to give a shoutout to my coaches, who are always there to guide us and help us develop our skills.

Their support and encouragement really mean a lot to me! My mom and dad, along with the rest of my family, are my number one supporters, always in the stands cheering for me. I really appreciate everything my team, coaches, and family do, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season goes!

_____________________

Next Up : Assistant Coach Maleah Neely :

I don’t even know if Raylee knows this, but I have known her for all of her life. I remember her momma bringing her to a basketball game her sister Kayla and I were playing in, so it’s super crazy to be coaching her now.

She has such a high ceiling and is a fantastic athlete. As a freshman, Raylee is already doing things and making plays that are far beyond her years.

She has been a steady compliment to Laiken on the right side and has really stepped up to make things happen on the court. Raylee is learning to find her voice on a group that has strong voices already, and she is growing every time she steps on the court.

She is training behind Laiken as a setter, learning everything she can because it’ll be her role in a couple years. Her confidence is continuing to grow with each rep that she is able to get.

As a multi sport athlete, Raylee is always on the go. From softball to
basketball and volleyball, Raylee is super well rounded. I have been excited to see the lightbulb moments she has had so far this year and I am looking forward to see her continued growth.

She’s definitely going to be one to watch over her high school career in all the sports that she plays.

________________

From Mom 👩 and Dad 👨:

As parents, what we admire about Raylee is her love of God, family, and friends. God has blessed Raylee, with not only being athletic, but having a loving heart and a great personality. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially her nieces and nephews.

When she is with her friends that is when her personality shines.Raylee plays three sports: Volleyball, Basketball, and Softball. When we ask her what her favorite is she will tell you, “I love them all!” 

Her toughness. hustle, and willingness to learn from coaches and teammates is what makes her a very special young lady. She also enjoys spending time outdoors hunting and fishing with the family.

With Raylee’s schedule there is very little down time. She is always on the go, and we wouldn’t have it any other way! We are very proud of Raylee and are excited to see what God has in store for her future!

__________________

Head Coach Cindy Edwards :

Raylee Goins is such an athletic kid who is also a 3 sport athlete she works so hard at every sport she plays. She is a joy to be around and a laugh that makes your day .

Her potential is amazing because of how hard she works. I can’t wait to see the end product in 4 years.

Ladies & Gentlemen, I present to you, Miss Raylee Goins….

While the official start time is not for roughly 3 hours yet, I will start my Celebration a little early. The parking lot across the street is full at 11am on a Sunday, leading me to believe that the leadership of the School has opened the doors 🚪 once again.

A second option could be that the Bingo Party 🥳 last night is still going on… as fun of a thought as that is, I am pretty sure that’s not the case.

Answer – Church ⛪ Services

So much has changed in our lives over the past 10 days since the Hurricane 🌀 disrupted so many lives. I am very proud of the leadership 👏 being shown from within our School 🏫 and our Community. Sadly, we live in a World 🌎 where it’s very easy to second guess and do so loudly.

Today was a day set aside for us to Celebrate the accomplishments of Casey Burcham and Steve Combs. Both of those guys 👦 will quickly tell you that its a long, long list of Folks that jumped on their Train 🚆 in regards to the Indoor Hitting Center.

11:07 – Jeff Tobler wins the prize of being the second person here !

We are still going to have as much fun as possible today. We are still going to celebrate Casey & Combs. We are still going to show off our new Stadium 🏟 seats 💺. The only thing that will be different is the “Live” money 💰 raised today will be given to a LOCAL group helping our Neighbors in regards to the Storm.

God’s Storehouse and local Students 🙏 that have been displaced from normalcy.

Rick and Donna Nester came up with the tweak and Casey Burcham needed half a second to agree.

11:14 – Coach Nester gets the Bronze Medal 🥉🏅….

Leadership isn’t an easy thing to provide and its not for everyone but we have it in Spades around here and its special to see. Nobody was thinking about devastating Flood Waters 💧 two weeks ago, atleast I wasn’t. Resilient People rally around each other and have to make tough decisions and we are Blessed to have enough 🙏 of them ❤ around…..

Come on out and celebrate with us, officially we start at 2pm but there’s plenty of Good People buzzing around now if you enjoy being around Quality Souls.

One more time to say Thank You to Alexis Dalton for taking point on the Game and Home Run 🏃‍♂️ Derby !

It was Austin Keith’s first block Building Trades class.Jaylon Bullion, Evan Webb, Daniel Easter,Lilly Jackson, Kyra Parks, Jesse Edwards, Landen Austin & Samuel McGrady.

That was the text message from Mr. Stephen Puckett in regards to who exactly pitched in during a much needed time Thursday morning 🌄.

To fully appreciate Thursday morning we have to go back to late Wednesday afternoon. It was closing in on 5:00 pm when Paul Nester and Donald Dalton were finishing up their third and final day of creating the brick wrap around for our new Stadium seats 💺at Cavalier Park.

The wall stands six and 1/2 feet tall in back. By the time the day ended, neither of them were going to be hanging around to do a complete clean up. Coach Rick Nester and myself were both ready to call it a day as well so there was a decent amount of cleanup that needed to be done. The decision was made to get it done the following morning.

While my being of assistance during the build was incredibly limited to what a non-skilled person could do, I knew that it would only be Rick down there on Thursday morning.

So I headed back to The Hill to make sure Coach wasn’t alone. Much to my surprise, when I pulled into the lot I noticed the place had been 100% put back together !!!

Saying Thank You 🙏 to people that perform acts of kindness ❤ is quite possibly my favorite thing to do. This led me to ask Stephen if he could help me give a proper Thank You to both the teacher and the students. Love the fact that we can say THANK YOU to the entire group…