SOPHIE CHILDS
12-2 Girls
Sophie is originally from Tulsa, OK and went to Bixby High School. After graduating from high school, Sophie went on to play two season for Wichita State before transferring to Texas State, when she and her team had a NCAA tournament appearance. From Texas State, Sophie went on to play the 2024 season at The Citadel, where she appeared in 109 sets and tallied 317 kills for the Bulldogs.
ALI RUFFIN
13-1 Girls
Coach Ruffin has had an unprecedented career at The Citadel, and is one of the most decorated athletes in school history, across all programs. In her most recent season, Ruffin achieved one of the most dominant individual seasons in program history, reaching the 1,000-kill mark as a junior and recorded a single-season program record of 529 kills (12th in the NCAA), averaging 4.52 kills per set. Ali tallied a season-high 47 service aces, posted 405 digs and recorded 12 20-kill matches, including 20 double-doubles on the season, nine of which were in straight matches. Coach Ruffin ranked 11th in attacks per set in the NCAA and eighth in total attacks with 1,458 - all in an undefeated regular season in 2023. Ruffin coached three seasons at ECJVC for pre-travel teams, camps and clinics for girls ages 6-18. Ruffin is dual-sport athlete at The Citadel, throwing for the Track & Field program. 2021 Rayna Taylor SoCon Freshman of the Year 2021 Southern Conference All-Freshman Team 2021 Southern Conference All-Tournament Team 2022 Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Month 2022 Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week 2022 First-team All-Conference 2022 Campbell Invitational Tournament MVP 2022 College of Charleston Invitational All-Tournament Team 2022 Clemson Invitational All-Tournament Team 2022 Fall Academic All-Southern Conference Team 2023 Southern Conference Player of the Year 2023 Southern Conference First Team 2023 AVCA All-American Honorable Mention 2023 AVCA East Coast All-Region Honorable Mention 2023 Two-time Southern Conference Player of the Month 2023 Five-time Southern Conference Player of the Week 2023 Bash at The Beach Tournament MVP 2023 Jacksonville Invitational Tournament MVP 2023 Queens Fall Classic Tournament MVP 2023 Buccaneer Invitational Tournament MVP
KELLY OWENS
13-2 Girls
Coach Kelly is a Charleston native and played DII volleyball in the South Atlantic Conference at Mars Hill University. She continued her education at the College of Charleston, where she graduated with an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education. Later she also received a Master’s in Educational Administration from Liberty University. Coach Kelly attended Middleton High School where she played both volleyball and basketball and earned all-conference honors. Coach Kelly has thirty years of experience in education, with twenty of those as a classroom teacher, and she is currently an assistant principal at Hanahan Middle School. She also serves as the Boys Volleyball Outreach Director for the USA Palmetto Volleyball Region and was the Chair of the Boys HS Volleyball Sanctioning Committee.
BLAINE WEST
13-1 Girls
Coach Blaine is from Georgia where she helped lead her high school, Woodward Academy, to two AAAA state championship wins. Her senior year, she was also named a State All-Star, highlighted in the North/South game. She played club for Tsunami and A5. Blaine went on to play volleyball at The Citadel for four years an outside, two of those years also as the team captain. After college, Blaine has continued to play indoor, grass, and beach volleyball whenever she can. She is going on her third year as the JV Volleyball Coach at Berkeley High School. Blaine is a Realtor and enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids.
GAYLEN FRONK
14-1 Girls
Coach Fronk played at Davidson College and served as a 2-year captain. Gaylen’s collegiate role was primarily as a setter, but now plays other positions in quads, triples, co-ed, etc. Coach Fronk’s coaching experience includes three years at Madtown Juniors (LOVB club in Madison, WI) as a 13U and 14U head and assistant coach. Gaylen has her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is relocating to Charleston, SC for her residency at MUSC.
OLIVIA OLSEN
16U Boys
Olivia is from Moncks Corner and went to Berkeley HS where she played for the volleyball team. Upon graduating from Berkeley, Olivia went on to study and play at Division II University of Mount Olive as a Defensive Specialist. Olivia was a part of the UMO Women's Volleyball program for three years, where she made the Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll twice and earned All-Academic honors in 2021.
CARRIE YOHE
15-2 Girls
Coach Carrie Yohe has been around volleyball in the Charleston area since 1994. Originally from Elyria, OH she attended Charleston Southern University majoring in Physical Education and on the Women's Volleyball team (1994- 1998). Coach Carrie is still currently ranked 3rd in Career Blocks with 416 (1994- 1997), 5th for Individual Season Block Assists with 108 (1997), 10th in Individual Season Total Blocks with 138 (1997). She finished up her college career by earning Female Athlete of The Year 1994 and Physical Education Major of The Year 1994. Coach Carrie is currently a Physical Education teacher at Westview Elementary School in Goose Creek, SC. She is married to Tim Yohe with two children Liz and Becca, and their dog Ace (King of The Court). Both girls are graduates of Summerville High School. Liz played volleyball at Converse College and is the Head Varsity Volleyball Coach at Summerville High School. Becca is a 2023 graduate of Summerville and is playing volleyball at Erskine College. Coach Carrie’s philosophy: Coaching and teaching are not just about the sport or the game. We coach the whole person. Sports teach us more than a game, they teach us life skills. Winning is not everything, but learning is…