In the Midst of a Turnaround Season, the Lady Wolverine Volleyball Team Found an Identity in their Serving Abilities and Turned their Prowess into a Unique Celebration of Success
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
After a disappointing 2021 season, the Woodruff Lady Wolverine volleyball team was looking for a spark to unify a collectively talented group of seniors and underclassmen.
New head coach Tonja Westmoreland took the reins of the program during the spring and immediately infused new life into the program. Her players did the rest. Since the start of the season, things have been running like a powerful locomotive for the Lady Wolverines, and it quickly became clear just how good the team was at serving.
Out of that serving prowess was born a unique celebration that further united an already close team. The ‘Ace Train’ was born, and everyone has gotten on board.
Simply put, whenever a Woodruff player serves an ace, every player on the bench forms a line and steps in unison down Woodruff’s side of the court while simultaneously making the sound of a train whistle.
A cute gesture in its simplicity, but the celebration has taken on a life of its own and has become a runaway success.
Senior Alivia Watts first explained how the team became so adept at serving aces, meaning a serve that results in a point without the opponent being able to return the ball.
“Coach Westmoreland loves to practice serving,” she said. “Lots and lots of practice definitely helps.”
Fellow senior Kylie Hitchcock, a frontline player and the tallest on the team at 6-feet-1 inches tall, is not only a force at the net, but also one of the serving leaders on the team.
Hitchcock says the team wanted to come up with a unique way to celebrate each other’s success, and so was born the Ace Train.
“We were just trying to find something to make us upbeat and excited, so we came up with the idea of the Ace Train,” explained Hitchcock. “Everyone loved the idea, and we just decided to do it and make the train whistle sound every time somebody served an ace.”
Hitchcock added that the more the celebration was demonstrated, the more it took on a life of its own.
She explained, “Ada (Epton) is the leader of the Ace Train, and she gets excited every time we get an ace so everyone just follows her lead.”
The success is in the numbers, too.
Woodruff has been quite prolific at scoring via the ace, especially in region play. In one match against Chester, freshman Ruthie Sheffield served 24 consecutive points, including eight aces during that incredible set.
While Watts, Hitchcock, and Sheffield are the team leaders in serving, they are just three players on a team that shares that ability.
Sheffield has a 97 percent serving success rate with 34 aces through the first two region contests. Hitchcock serves at a 93 percent success rate with 17 aces through the same number of matches, and Watts has added 17 aces of her own.
Other players, such as Kaitlyn Jackson and Epton, the creator of the Ace Train, have been prolific in their own right.
Sheffield, only a freshman, said her set against Chester is a true indication of how good this Woodruff team can be.
“It was pretty great and felt really good after the match was over,” she said. “Being able to serve the ball helps us a lot. It’s really great when we have freshmen and seniors who contribute together. Everyone was very welcoming to me when I got here.”
Coach Westmoreland has been in awe of her team’s chemistry and attributes their success to hard work and a willingness to do what it takes to get better through their ability to bond.
“One of the big things I want is team bonding,” said Westmoreland. “This team is more like a family, and they support each other. Even when we face some hard teams and adversity, they keep pumping each other up. Sometimes you’re going to get up, and sometimes you’re going to get down. The Ace Train is definitely something they created that always keeps their spirits and chemistry up.”
Hitchcock and Watts added that this season has been among the most fun they have ever had on the volleyball court and that the youthful energy of freshmen players Sheffield and Jensyn Turner has reinvigorated the program.
“Ruthie and Jensyn have brought so much life to the team,” she said. “Last season was not the best year, and we just needed something and someone to get us going.”
Watts added, “(Ruthie and Jensyn) bring a lot of immaturity to the team but in a good way. It’s a great feeling to be a little bit childish with them and relieve some of our freshmen lives even as seniors.”
And the journey that each player on the Lady Wolverines’ roster shares together started when they boarded the Ace Train.
Author: Tracy Sanders
