Chipley heads into post season as region favorites

CHIPLEY, Fla. (WMBB) – The Chipley volleyball team has moved up to No. 4 in the Rural rankings and earned a handful of program-defining victories to close out the regular season.

The Tigers (16-6), closed out the regular season with wins over the defending Rural State Champions Baker, as well as Blountstown, Cottondale, and two Class 5A programs, Mosley and Arnold.

Chipley was the first Rural (Class 1A) team to beat Mosley since MaxPreps started keeping track in 2004.

Wayne Risinger is in his second season leading the program. He previously coached at Bay United Volleyball Club and was an assistant at Gulf Coast State College.

In his first season at the helm, Chipley finished with a 21-7 record and fell to the eventual state champs, Baker, in the Class 1A Region Finals.

Coach Risinger put together a much tougher schedule this season to help prepare his team for the playoffs. Of the Tiger’s six losses, only one has come at the hands of a team within their own classification.

Based on Chipley’s success, you would think they would have size and college athletes all over the court, however, at a glance it is quite the opposite. Chipley’s three leaders in kills this season are 5’6 Sarayah Hogan, 5’4 Alaina Finch, and 5’4 Sadayah Hogan.

Coach Risinger said that this team embodies what it means to be small but mighty.

“Our biggest pin hitter is five foot six,” Coach Risinger said. “I’ve got two, 5’6 and a couple of 5’4’s with extreme athleticism thought. And they look at those girls and that’s their challenge, right? They look at a Lilly Hayward over there at Mosley, you know, six foot plus, and that’s a challenge to them. They’re not going to let down, they’re not going to give up. They’re going to try to rise to that challenge and get up and do the best they can to block or to hit over her or through her. It’s a big challenge, but not one of those girls are afraid of that.”

Having beaten teams like Baker, Arnold, and Mosley, whose coaches have all won state championships, Coach Risinger said his team is feeling confident that they have what it takes this year to go all the way and win their program’s first state title.

“When they see that and they know that they know those coaches, it just makes more sense to my girls,” Risinger said. “And that whole motto of ‘Why not us?’ Why not us? What’s stopping us? Nothing, right? We’re in our own way. We get the job done and then we can go there as well and we can be at that level or that state championship level. We truly believe it.”

Chipley is currently the top-ranked team in Class Rural Region 1. The program has not reached the Final Four since 1982.

They will begin their post-season as the host of the Rural District 2 tournament. They will face the winner of Vernon and Holmes County on Tuesday, October 15.

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