Savannah Christian volleyball coach Julie Jones was already looking forward to the 2026 season as the backbone of her young, talented squad was returning with another year of valuable experience to build upon.
Then the Raiders added one of the top outside hitters in the state when Myla Shippy transferred in from The Habersham School.
The athletic 6-foot-1 junior made an immediate connection with her new teammates and their chemistry has been evident on a team that seems poised to make a postseason run.
Savannah Christian went on the road Tuesday, Sept. 1, and swept Effingham County before taking on a strong South Effingham squad that reached the Class 5A state quarterfinals last year. The Raiders beat South Effingham 25-14, 28-26 to improve to 15-0
on the season and still haven't lost a set this year.
"It was a great little surprise when we found out she was coming to our school," said Jones, in her 29th year leading the program. "She adds a lot offensively and defensively as well. She plays six rotations and is a very solid, solid player. Adding her to the mix of a team that played well last year, its a great piece to add to the puzzle."
Shippy was an All-Greater Savannah first-team selection last year as a sophomore, and she joins a squad that had three first-team All-Greater Savannah selections in setter Carinne Cason, the junior who recently recorded her 1,000th career assist, along with star junior libero Avery Ritzert and standout junior opposite Kamila Salinas.
The Raiders also have a rising star in sophomore S/OH Ella Burgstiner and difference makers at the net in Taylor Falzarano and Savannah Griffin.
"When I got here, I made the connection with my teammates pretty much right away," said Shippy, who is receiving recruiting interest from a number of Division I programs. "I really like the environment with the school and our team and we're going against tough competition and playing really well. We have so much talent and can run a lot of different plays ― it's been a lot of fun."
The team bond was plain to see in the win over South Effingham, where the Mustangs pushed the Raiders hard in the second set where SCPS prevailed 28-26.
"Adding Myla has made our team even more well rounded," Cason said. "We brought back a lot of talent and she just adds to it. I think our strength this year is the friendship we have on and off the court ― everyone trusts each other."
The Raiders faced perhaps their toughest opponent yet in the Mustangs (15-6) a squad led by outside hitter Morgan Stringer, the versatile senior who has committed to play at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and senior setter Leah Magana, an All-State selection last season who has committed to play at Brewton-Parker.
Both were at the top of their games in the thrilling second set as the crowd in the Mustang gym was at the edge of their seats.
Mustang Coach Haywood Ellison was there to inspire his squad with his enthusiastic style down the stretch. He said the close setback against a strong opponent will help his squad going forward.
"They (Savannah Christian) hadn't lost a set all season, and if you take away a couple errors we could have won that second set and who knows what could have happened in the third set," Ellison said. "They have two great hitters and if you get the ball anwhere controllable to their libero (Ritzert), she's going to get it to the setter to set their offense up.
"But we haven the opportunity to be a time like that as well. We have players at every position and you can't deny the fight our girls have. They play hard."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Star transfer adds to talented Savannah Christian volleyball team
