It was a moment 39 years in the making on Thursday evening at Crawfordsville High School. Yes there was a volleyball game being played as the Athenians concluded the regular season by hosting Covington. Most nights the play on the court would take center stage, but not on this night. Kelly Johnson, who has spent the last 39 years at the helm of Crawfordsville volleyball coached in her final home game of her career.
There were plenty of former players and assistant coaches there in attendance and most of all Johnson’s family including her daughter Lyndsy, son Trent, and husband Gail as Johnson took her home court one last time. Crawfordsville athletic director Bryce Barton presented Johnson with plaque and framed photo collage of her tenure with the Athenians right before the match began.
“It is not easy to be a head coach in this day and age,” Barton said. “For Kelly to have coached 40 years with 39 at Crawfordsville just speaks volumes about her drive, motivation, and competitiveness. Her players left the volleyball program with long-lasting memories and the tools to be successful in life. We thank her for the impact that she made on them.”
It was an eventful night for Johnson who shed some tears, but in the end the impact that has had on the Crawfordsville volleyball program will be felt forever.
“I honestly just can’t say enough about everyone in this gym who made this happen tonight,” Johnson said. “I have to thank my parents and family for all of their support. All of this was just a very humbling experience for me.”
It was also senior night for the Athenians as they honored their six seniors in Macy Bruton, Elyse Widmer, Jessica Tribble, Halle Elliot, Hallie Gayler, and Brooklyn Mills. At the very end of the night the Crawfordsville community had plenty of reasons to celebrate as CHS swept the visiting Trojans (25-11, 25-19, 25-20). With the win Crawfordsville gave Johnson here 624th win of her career and those six seniors got a win in their final home game.
“There were plenty of emotions in this building tonight, and for good reason” Johnson said. “All six of these seniors are amazing kids and I love each and everyone of them. They’re all work hard and are a fun group to be around. They bring this team together and were able to lead them to a 22-8 regular season.”
As usual those seniors stuffed the stat sheet as Bruton ended with 26 kills and 13 digs and a pair of aces. Widmer ended her night with three digs, four aces, and three assists. Elliot notched 18 digs while Tribble set up the CHS offense to the tone of 40 assists and also had a pair of digs. Mills ended her final home match with two kills. Devan Johnson added five kills and a dig, Kaydence Brost added three kills.
As Johnson said, with the win the Athenians are 22-8 on the season. They now get a week of rest before returning to action for the Class 3A Sectional 25 which is hosted by Western Boone. CHS will get a re-match with Danville, who bested the Athenians in a five set thriller just last week.
“I’m just all around really proud of these kids,” Johnson said. “We’re going to take the weekend to rest, then get ready to get after on Thursday. It’s sectional time so anything can happen.”
It was truly a special night in the Athenian gymnasium. There were plenty of reasons for every in attendance to smile as seniors and a legendary coach were honored on top of a Crawfordsville win. It was a night that most Crawfordsville fans will remember for quite sometime.
