by Kyle Melnick ’14

The girls’ volleyball team has succesfully won three state championships; winning three seasons in a row. Not only that, but the co-ed volleyball team finished undefeated in the regular season last year along with the boys’ team finishing with only two losses.

The excitement and tradition of volleyball in the Olney area is one of the best in the state. Not only is Sherwood one of the only schools in the county with a girls’, boys’ and co-ed volleyball team, but the school has demonstrated its dominance through the success of all three teams. The legacy of Sherwood volleyball began in 1991 when physical education teacher Bonnie Gilchrist took over the boys’ varsity team.

“It was a young and upcoming program. The coaches who had been here previously had been working towards the development of the volleyball teams and had left all three programs on solid foundations to build upon,” said Gilchrist.

Gilchrist was not a stranger to volleyball when hired by Sherwood either. The University of Maryland volleyball captain played four years as a Terrapin, winning three conference championships during that span. Gilchrist has been honored as coach of the year three times and has won five county championships during her coaching career.

Each summer, Gilchrist and coach Scott Zanni from Magruder hold a volleyball camp to stimulate interest in volleyball in the Olney area. Both coaches use this camp to help younger players gain interest in the sport and take up playing on in-house and travel clubs; in addition, more experienced players are able to mature their game and play competitively. The camp has played a vital role in raising popularity of the sport in Olney.

After Gilchrist coached the current girls’ team coach Brian McCarty and boys’ coach Ben Sanger during the 2001-2003 championship seasons, Gilchrist transitioned these two from players to coaches taking over the program. After winning their last championship as players in 2003, the two decided the Sherwood volleyball mantra would become “the faces may change, but the tradition remains.” This certainly became known to be true after the Sherwood pipeline continued to grow and change, but the success of the program continued to thrive. Coach Joe Moyer, who is now the assistant coach of the girls’ team, spent his career coaching volleyball at the collegiate level at the University of Maryland before taking the job at Sherwood. The co-ed coach, Pete Siarkas, has held a winning tradition since taking the job in 2006.

“I’ve been very lucky to have such an awesome coach like Mrs. Gilchrist to teach me the game and instill many strong values into the Sherwood volleyball program,” said McCarty. “I feel our player skill development and scouting reports for opponents are top notch, and really important to getting an edge on the court.”

“The volleyball teams here at Sherwood have each won numerous championships and this has really been the driving force behind the continued growth and success in all of the volleyball programs,” said Gilchrist. “It’s really all about the student athletes; the girls, the guys and their desire to excel which is contagious to those who watch them play with such precision.”

The boys’ team is currently 5-1, while the co-ed team is undefeated with a 6-0 record behind seniors Megan Brady and Maddie Moyer.