Volleyball’s growth in Culpeper remarkable

By Shane Mettlen

Published: September 15, 2008

Volleyball has never been Culpeper’s sport. Less than a decade ago the county didn’t even have a high school program and last year the Culpeper County High School team matched its best season ever with two victories.

So it wasn’t like there were high expectations for CCHS and the new Eastern View High School volleyball teams heading into this season. If county had struggled to produce one high school team in recent years, what could we reasonably expect with the talent spread across two teams?

But so far its shaping up to be the best year in Culpeper volleyball history. The Blue Devilettes are sitting at .500 after finishing second at the Little Giant Invitational last week. Earlier in the season, CCHS won its first ever Cedar Run District match and with one more victory will triple the school’s previous best win total.

But the Devilettes aren’t the only team in town showing promise. The Eastern View Cyclones got off to a tough start to the season with a roster made up of many of CCHS’s JV players from last year. But after a couple of tough losses to CCHS the Cyclones started off the Battlefield District portion of their schedule with a pair of victories.

Somehow the county that has no history of volleyball success has two teams that won’t roll over to the competition. It seems like an overnight turn around, but in reality this has been building for years.

Culpeper has always been at a disadvantage compared to other area teams that benefit from having middle school feeder programs. To help combat that problem former CCHS coaches Theresa Gore and Kevin Mozingo devoted the majority of their free time to holding open gyms and recreational leagues around town and helped lay the groundwork for a middle school program at St. Luke’s.

Last year the efforts began to have tangible benefits. As more and more girls started playing volleyball at a young age, CCHS had enough players for the first time last year to field a varsity, JV and freshman squad.

And that spawned what’s happened in 2008. CCHS coach Chris White inherited a Culpeper squad that for the first time was loaded with experienced juniors and senior talent. White has done a masterful job getting the Devilettes to play with intensity and has helped them learn how to close out tough matches.

At Eastern View, Betty Jo Utz took over a team that lacked the experience of the CCHS squad, but the big improvement the Cyclones have already shown early in the season has made it clear that the EVHS program is also in very good hands.

Both teams have an opportunity to keep their good fortunes going this week. Eastern View travels to King George today and then plays host to James Monroe on Thursday. If the Cyclones win those matches they might just be the favorites to win the district.

Culpeper visits Stonewall Jackson today and hosts Osbourn Park on Thursday, giving CCHS even more opportunities to build on its record-breaking season.

And if the quality of play around town continues in the direction its going, there will be plenty more victories to celebrate in the future.

Shane Mettlen can be reached at 825-0771, ext. 127 or