Slate Emerges As Hero In “Volley for the Cure” Volleyball Match At Abingdon

ABINGDON, Va.  – The volleyball teams from Abingdon and John Battle high school made history Monday night.

Before a large group of supporters, Kelsey Slate authored her own success story.

The Battle sophomore led the Trojans to a 25-10, 25-16, 25-17 sweep over the Falcons in the first Susan G. Komen “Volley for the Cure” match.
Fans and players from both teams dressed in different shades of pink to raise awareness and raise funds for breast cancer research. The concept was the first such effort of its kind in Virginia at the high school level.

While the mood was festive, Slate remained focus. The sophomore collected four service aces and helped direct Battle’s hitting attack.

“I didn’t play much on the varsity last year and it was a big surprise to start this season, but I really enjoy it,” Slate said. “We graduated lot of seniors. We’re doing pretty good, though.”

At only 5-foot-6, Slate is small for the vital middle hitter position. She compensates with impressive leaping ability and works well with experienced setter, Brittni Altmann.
“Brittni is awesome,” said Slate, who supplied 10 kills against rival Virginia High earlier this season “She always puts the ball where we need it.”

Five-foot-nine junior Kelsey Griffitts (11 kills, nine digs, three blocks) contributed her standard dominant performance for Battle, while Altmann (24 assists) and sophomore hitter Abby Davis (six kills, five digs) also played well.

“We’ve got several girls who can hit, but sometimes it takes us a while to get our offense going,” Battle coach Gary Griffitts said.

The Trojans (12-3, 2-3) started four sophomores Monday. 

“A lot of our girls haven’t had much varsity experience. The more they play, the better they get,” Griffitts said.

The Battle coach has been pleased with the maturation of Slate.

“Kelsey is more of a natural outside hitter, but we’re so inexperienced that we’re just trying to fill holes.  Kelsey has really come on the past few weeks,’ Griffitts said. 

Experience is also an issue for Abingdon, which returned just senior setter Samantha Mitchell from last season’s Region IV playoff team.

“I feel like we’re making progress with each game,” AHS coach Sarah Beth Mathesius said.

Leaders for AHS (3-8, 3-3) Monday included Mitchell (nine assists), junior Sabrina Viers (four kills), junior Julie Stepp (four kills) and 6-1 senior middle hitter Caity Merritt.

Despite the loss, there was a festive vibe in the AHS gym as longtime coach Judy Wallace returned along with several former AHS players.
The VIPs also included a representative (Lora Bickley) from the Virginia High School League and breast cancer survivors from the community.

According to the AHS coach, more than $1,500 was raised just in the sale of T-shirts. The match was stopped after the second game to raffle off various prizes.

“My assistant coach (Susan Abel) kind of orchestrated this idea, and I was on board for everything,” Mathesius said. “We’ve had great support from the community and been pleasantly surprised at how all everything has gone.

“It’s fun to see our girls get excited about something other than their daily routine.”

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