SPIKE IN POPULARITY
Central Columbia will field its first girls volleyball team this fall, generating more interest locally in the fast-paced, fast-growing sport.
When the Blue Jays host South Williamsport Aug. 26 in their first-ever match, Central will become the third local school offering the sport. Danville added volleyball last fall; Berwick offered it for almost 25 years.
According to Central Athletic Director Kevin Morgan, creating a girls volleyball program began two years ago with a survey of students asking what new sport they'd most likely be interested in trying out. Volleyball generated the biggest response, ahead of wrestling — which the district has since incorporated with the PIAA creating a girls state tournament — and lacrosse.
The biggest concern the district had, and avoided, was interest declining in other sports. The numbers, though, have stayed steady in soccer (25), field hockey (50) and tennis (25).
"There was a huge interest in girls sports, and two years ago we felt it was time to introduce a new sport at Central," Morgan said. "In the last year or so, we've really ramped up our efforts to get this going."
The Blue Jays have built the program from the ground up. The cost so far has been nearly $30,000 for essentials such as uniforms, drilling holes in the gym floor for the net, and game-day salaries for coaches and refs.
Morgan said the new sport generated plenty of excitement and very little skepticism. A lot of the enthusiasm started at the top with coach Bethany Comstock.
Back to her roots
Comstock, the wife of Central High Principal Adam Comstock, is no stranger to the game or coaching. She moved to the area five years ago from upstate South Carolina, where she had coached volleyball for several years.
But nothing like this.
"It's exciting. At T.L. Hanna (her old post), I walked into a program and was blessed to make it better, but there was also pressure to make it better," Comstock said. "Here, I tell the girls we're the start of this and it's only going to get better. We're getting to see the improvement, both personal and team.
"They don't have to live up to someone else's mark. They set the standard and that raw start is really exciting."
Comstock, the only applicant for the position, was hired at the May school board meeting, but was hands-on with development of the program even longer. She, Morgan and physical education teacher Andrea Borland came up with a plan of attack a year earlier by hosting open gyms twice a week in the fall and spring seasons, and three times a week during the summer. The hope was to build interest and teach the fundamentals of the sport. To drum up interest, they also made a promo video for the high school's morning news program.
Though students are interested in the sport, getting help courtside has been a challenge. Comstock said she "begged" Borland, another former volleyball coach, to be her assistant, but the teacher is busy with young children of her own. Advertising has generated only one applicant so far, just this month.
"I think people are nervous because they never played competitively because it is such a new sport around here," Comstock said. "They probably think they have to have experience playing, but right now I just need someone with managerial skills, since I have the playing experience."
Comstock has been helped by advice from Berwick's coach, Sarah Warner, who coaches Comstock's daughter Caroline in club volleyball; also, from Danville coach Erin Ross. They've said they're happy Central, which will also field a junior varsity team, will be the 11th school in the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference (PHAC) and 24th in District 4 to introduce the sport.
"Everybody has been very welcoming and excited to expand volleyball," Comstock said.
No sophomore slump
Interest in the sport continues to grow in Danville. The Ironmen had over 60 kids show up for open gyms and 40 for tryouts. Cuts are expected as the team develops, capping itself at 24 athletes.
Entering their second season, the Ironmen hope to build off four wins from last fall's inaugural campaign.
"We have girls who are learning and advancing their skill set from last year. We're starting to become a more intermediate to advanced unit," Ross said. "Every team is improving, including us. We've upped our ability and are playing stronger and more competitive volleyball. I'm excited to see the growth."
Ross, a native of Athens, Ohio, has lived in the area for over a decade since her husband took a job at Geisinger. She says she always assumed the state was a hotbed for volleyball after attending a camp 25 years ago at seven-time national champion Penn State.
Instead, the former swim, gymnastics and soccer coach calls the challenge of starting a new team one of the most rewarding, and shares advice with Central.
"The other coaches — all from Utah, Wyoming and Ohio — love the game so much and are so excited to share with the kids. We already have a player looking into college, and that's the icing on the cake that we weren't expecting in the beginning.
"... I hope the kids at Central just have fun and listen to their coach because she clearly knows what she's doing. Give her your attention and be patient. There will be bumps, but it's exciting to be part of something from the beginning."
Sharing experience
Warner, who begins her 12th season as coach of the Bulldogs, echoes Ross.
"Have fun, enjoy the moment and embrace the journey," Warner said. "It's hard to start up from scratch, but when you have fun with it, it's definitely worth your while."
Berwick has offered girls volleyball since 2001, but Warner recalls growing pains Danville and Central will certainly go through.
"I think you have to have energy and work from the bottom up," she said. "When I first started, people didn't know Berwick had a volleyball program, and it had been around for a decade."
Interest has grown in Berwick with 70 kids attending its camp and 28 showing up for the varsity season. Warner doesn't want to make cuts, allowing everybody to train and compete.
Growing the game
Berwick has welcomed a co-op player from Millville, Taylor Riera-Gomez, to its squad. Central and Danville offer the sport only to students of the respective districts because so many of their own girls have shown interest.
"We had over 60 kids show up last summer, and over 100 kids when we had club practices," Danville's Ross said. "It shows the kids wanted this — whether it was to learn something new or to play something new.
"We'll see where we are in five to ten years, but to build a competitive program, we need to start them younger with middle school programs and youth programs. We had 30 girls at our youth camp who were eager and got better. It's a positive that this new sport isn't intimidating for them."
Morgan, who says Central is slow to the game compared to its PHAC and District 4 counterparts, mentions it would be unfair to the district students to open spots to Bloomsburg kids in a co-op.
Bloomsburg Athletic Director Mike Kogut and Morgan have had discussions about Bloomsburg potentially starting up a girls volleyball program.
Bloomsburg's issue is that interest in volleyball is coming from girls already playing fall sports at a time when the Panthers are low on numbers and eager to rekindle interest in sports already offered. It also got a lot of interest from girls at the junior high level. In the end, only a handful of students didn't fall into either category.
Still, nothing is off the table.
"Right now, the other sports would suffer, but if we can offer something for our kids to participate in, we're going to," Kogut said. "After those few kids approached me about wanting volleyball, I did what I could and took it to the board. ... Depending on age or their situation, we'll never close the door. Even though it didn't work out this time it doesn't mean it never will. I'll always look into something if the interest is there."
Catching up to 'Dogs
Excited for where the growth in volleyball can happen, Warner, also an Ohio native, would love an opportunity for her Berwick squad to play Central and Danville. She also knows both programs want to get better before going up against a squad that's played in the last four District 2 Class 3A championships, winning three years in a row, 2020-2022.
"I love the fact that it's growing," Warner said. "It's been a long time coming, and to see other schools jumping on the fast-growing sport is really cool. I think once these programs get a little more established, I think it would be a great opportunity to have all of us competing against one another."
Morgan agrees, calling Berwick a "powerhouse" and hoping the Blue Jays' first season will be competitive. They split a home (Sept. 12) and away (Sept. 30) series with Danville this season.
No boys club
There is no talk of a boys team at either Central or Danville. No other District 4 schools offer the sport for boys. Berwick's boys team, which Warner also coaches, competes among 23 schools in District 2, and the PIAA has just two classifications for the spring sport.
Creating interest in the boys game at the youth level is difficult. Football, baseball and soccer engage boys before other sports such as tennis or track and field are introduced at junior high — still sooner than volleyball at the varsity level.
Meanwhile, the PIAA is looking to add two more classes to girls volleyball, giving it six classifications to match some of the more popular sports in the state such as football, basketball, baseball and softball. The idea was tentatively approved at the July meeting but must survive two more rounds of voting. If it does, girls volleyball may grow to six classes as early as the 2026 season.
That's a positive sign for a group of coaches who, despite wanting to have the best program in the area, agree on one thing: exciting times are here as volleyball grows in the region.
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