All-State Volleyball: East’s Sauvage earns Class AAA captain honors

By JAY W. BENNETT

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

CHARLESTON – Greenbrier East senior libero Dia Sauvage and her team didn’t qualify for the state volleyball tournament this fall.

Nonetheless, the Spartan earned her third nod on the Class AAA all-state first team and was honored as captain by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

Sauvage, who was named third team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, finished with 123 aces and served at 94.6%. Along with registering 104 assists, the Spartan made 711 digs at 97.5% and also had 1,047 serve-receptions which she handled at 94.8%.

“The awesome thing about Dia is that she never worried or worries about individual awards,” admitted father and Greenbrier East head coach Matt Sauvage. “She gets so excited for her teammates, whether it be her team winning or her teammates accomplishing goals or her teammates getting awards. She wants the best for the whole team, but in that process she succeeded individually beyond expectations.

“She will never take credit for her accomplishments, but she put in the time and effort for many years to get to where she is. As a player on the court she can pass, use her hands and serve well, but the three things that set her completely apart are her ability to read the game, her ability to make those around her better and Dia is very humble.”

The only repeat honoree on the first team was Woodrow Wilson junior Abby Dillon, who had 1,340 assists. The Flying Eagle added 55 aces, 480 digs and served at 99.3%.

State champion Morgantown was the only program with a pair of players on the top unit thanks to junior Audrey Buck and sophomore Paige Brink. Entering the state tournament, Buck had 69 aces, 204 kills, 218 digs and 494 assists, while Brink had 30 aces, 116 digs and 262 downed spikes.

Bridgeport’s Myleigh Smell helped the Indians to the big show. The junior earned her spot on the first team thanks to 508 kills where she hit .274. Smell also had 71 aces (93.7% server), 45 blocks, 384 digs and 523 serve-receptions at a 92.9% success rate.

Hedgesville sophomore Gracie Brown also was named to the first team after helping the Eagles qualify to Charleston. Brown hit .241 and had 480 kills, 52 aces, 34 blocks, 368 digs and 570 serve-receptions at 90%.

State runner-up Musselman was represented by junior masher Ada McCoy, who had 708 kills and hit .267. She also had 16 aces, 37 blocks and 246 digs.

Also landing spots on the first team were Parkersburg South senior Maia Johnson, Parkersburg senior Olivia Perkins and George Washington junior Ava Katz.

Johnson helped the Patriots reach the state tournament for the first time in more than a decade. Prior to losing in the state quarterfinals to the Mohigans, Johnson had amassed 573 kills with a .418 hitting efficiency. She also produced 59 blocks, 63 aces and 380 digs.

Perkins, who was named the Mountain State Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year, served at 88%, had 52 aces, 328 digs and 490 serve-receptions at nearly 91%.

Katz, also a libero, served at 91.5% and had both 124 aces and 124 assists. The Patriot also had 506 digs and 758 serve-receptions at almost 98%.

Musselman senior Ava Dunnigan was named captain of the second team.

The rest of the second team featured Bridgeport senior Ella Sorine, Woodrow Wilson junior Salia Harris, Hurricane junior Layla Swint, Huntington junior Mallori Dunn-Martin, Cabell Midland sophomore Jillian Yost, Ripley senior Emily King, Parkersburg senior Caelyn Wise, Morgantown senior Grace DeVall and George Washington junior Reva Sangrampurkar.