Four local volleyball players from four different Lexington County high schools were awarded All-State honors by the South Carolina Coaches Association of Women’s Sports.

The honorees will be recognized after their classification’s North-South All-Star Match on Nov. 18 at Brookland-Cayce High School. 

Alexis Jodie — River Bluff

Alexis Jodie earned 5A All-State and Region Four Player of the Year honors as a sophomore for River Bluff this season. 

“She’s very mature for her age and handles adversity very well,” Gators head coach Bryan Piro said. “She’s one of those players, as a leader of your team, who is very even-keeled in stressful moments. She’s just very calm and collected and just gives her teammates a calming sense on the court.”

Despite her age, Jodie has played in some big game moments. She was one of the team’s setters as an eighth-grader during River Bluff’s run to the state championship game in 2021. 

“She’s been in big-time moments and big games,” Piro said. “She has more experience as a sophomore than a lot of seniors do just with the level of competition that she has played in for our school.”

Through three seasons on the Gator varsity team, Jodie has accumulated some impressive stats. She has recorded 2,466 total assists in 314 sets played. 

“She’s almost broken the 2, 500 mark only as a sophomore. That’s pretty remarkable in terms of what she can do on the court,” Piro said. “Especially this year, she is the sole returning starter from last year’s team, and so, now she’s having to bring along the younger hitters or hitters who maybe are juniors or seniors that just didn’t have as much experience.”

Piro said he’s noticed Jodie play more physically since she began her varsity career. He hopes to see her growth as a leader continue, as her importance to the team increases.

“I am very grateful that I have her for another two years,” Piro said. “We’ve got a good group coming back the next couple of years with Alexis leading that charge.”

Dani Mejia — Chapin

Chapin senior Dani Mejia was selected to the 5A All-State team despite suffering a season-ending injury 12 games into the season. 

In her limited appearances, Mejia recorded 114 kills and 21 aces in 29 sets played. 

 “It’s interesting that even though she wasn’t on the court, she still had a huge presence on the bench as far as coaching and encouraging her teammates,” Chapin head coach Angela Gregory said. “The tone she sets on the court and the encouragement she gives to the girls is going to be greatly missed.”

Mejia’s ability to affect the game on and off the court this season made her more than deserving of the accomplishment, Gregory said. 

“Even talking to other coaches, they’re like ‘I don’t care if she’s on the court or not. She deserves this recognition for All-State,’” Gregory said. “Her name is known by all the other coaches in the district because she’s always a force to be dealt with when we play against our opponent. So, she definitely deserved this recognition, whether she was able to finish out the season or not.”

Gregory said that Mejia has no plans to continue her volleyball career in college but will instead focus on education. Still, Gregory hopes to see Mejia on the bench for Chapin again next season.

“We’ve actually offered to have her come back and coach with us when and if she can in the next year or so,” Gregory said. “She’s just this natural born leader, and we just can’t wait to see how she uses those talents in the future, whether it’s for coaching or maybe she will start playing again.”

Maggie Northcutt — Pelion

Maggie Northcutt was selected to the 2A All-State team for the second year in a row for the Pelion Panthers

Northcutt was also named 2A Region Three player of the year after leading Pelion to its best region record since the 2011 season. 

“I think she’s one of those players that other teams recognize,” Panthers head coach Elizabeth Peeples said. “She’s one of those standout players where if you’re going to play us, you know that you’ve got to defend our redheaded middle.”

Northcutt recorded 127 kills at a 46% rate this season, meaning she recorded a kill almost half of the times she touched the ball.

“She’s a really strong hitter, and she’s very naturally athletic, so she reads the ball really well,” Peeples said. “Her hits are very hard to defend.”

The Pelion volleyball team will be losing five seniors next season, including Northcutt. Peeples said it is going to be a real challenge filling that void. 

“She’s definitely going to be one of the most noticeable absences on our team next year,” Peeples said. “She definitely makes a big impact as they all do. But that one’s definitely one that’s going to be hard to replace.”

Meredith McEnulty — Gilbert

Gilbert’s Meredith McEnulty was named to the 3A All-State team after leading the Indians to a (10-1) first-place region record.

McEnulty, a senior, set a new season-high in kills during her final year at Gilbert. She recorded 183 kills at a 40% rate. 

“Meredith is a very determined athlete,” Gilbert volleyball head coach Jackie Shealy said. “She’s a very competitive person. She puts her whole heart into playing. She’s one who tries to be supportive of her teammates, and she gives it her all anytime she takes the court.”

McEnulty’s play on the court also earned her 3A Region Five Player of the Year. 

“She is one that wants to push herself. She likes to be challenged, and the more she’s challenged, the more she steps up her level of play,” Shealy said.

McEnulty plans to continue her volleyball career after high school. On Jul. 31 she announced her decision to commit to playing at Charleston Southern.

“She’s been very excited and has already been getting to know some of her teammates and has been supportive of that program some of this season,” Shealy said. “I know that she’s going to get out there and she’s going to work really hard and she’s just going to be a great addition to that program.”

McEnulty played on Gilbert’s varsity team since eighth grade. Shealy said her absence moving forward will be felt throughout the program, not only missing her play on the court but also her desire to mentor off the court. 

“She enjoys spending time with some of the younger players that we have coming through our camp,” Shealy said. “I have an autistic son and she has, through the years, been a presence with him, and helping in the unified program. … She just has so much to give and I think she enjoys giving back.”