Philip Simmons volleyball team wins first state championship
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Shout out to the Philip Simmons Volleyball team on winning the South Carolina State Championship! What an incredible year ladies and coaches, we are so proud of you!
Coach: Jay Watterworth – Head Varsity Volleyball Coach – Philip Simmons High
The Iron Horse Volleyball team is now in it’s 9th year as a program. The team has won 6 region championships in a row and has made the lower state finals 4 years in a row. We just completed our 4th 30-win season in a row.
Our team motto this year was “One Team, One Dream, State Bound”. We met our goal as we won the SCHSL AA State Championship.
Our team captains this year are Junior Dani Gehringer and Senior Sophia Pheney. They both lead in their own unique way. Dani is one who leads by example. She competes hard every day to be the best. Sophia is the vocal leader. She gives inspiration to her teammates when needed, keeps them focused, and bring lots of energy.
We don’t have any pregame traditions, but we eat a meal together before every game. Before games the girls can be caught creating tik toks together and just enjoying each other’s company and staying relaxed before a match.
Our program’s foundation is togetherness. We emphasize team bonding and respect. We embrace new players and their contributions to our team. This year, we had 2 new players added to the varsity team, one being a freshman. The girls treat her just like they would an upperclassman.
Celebrations
When we are on our way back from a win at an opponent’s gym, the bus is loud with music and singing. The girls love to celebrate together. Most times, we will go out to eat together and the celebration continues.
We also celebrate milestones. This year, we were able to celebrate 2 players collecting their 500th kill (McRae Stephenson and Mary Wells Mazur), we celebrated Sophia Pheney recording her 1,000th career assist (did this by getting on the microphone before a match), and recognized Coach Watterworth for his 400th career coaching victory.
Our team is very competitive, and we have felt heartbreak 2 years in a row by losing in the Lower State Finals each of the last 2 seasons. This year’s team did not want a 3-peat of that event, so they were motivated all year. We scheduled a tough non-conference to test ourselves and prepare us for a championship run.
This was our first state championship in program history and was the first time a Berkeley County Volleyball team has won the championship since 1987. We best 13 teams ranked in the top 100 in SC and 4 schools ranked in the top 40 in WV, FL, and NC. Simply put, this was an amazing season and I’m so proud to be the head of this program.
PS – I have to give a huge shoutout to my JV Coach and Varsity assistant, Kate Sablotsky. She is a huge reason why our program is successful. She is the best assistant around and pours her heart and soul into this program!
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