They were the tone setters for North Montgomery volleyball all season long. Senior hitter Annabel Anderson and junior setter Piper Ramey helped lead the Charger volleyball program this past fall and the success speaks for itself. North Montgomery won their first county title since 2017 along with also having their most wins (12) in a season since that 2017 season.
Second-year Charger coach Taylor Dyson was on that 2017 team and now along with Ramey and Anderson have laid the foundation for success.
Ramey was the do-it-all player for the Chargers this season. The All-SAC First-Team selection tallied 524 aces including reaching the 1,000 milestone in their final game of the season against West Lafayette. Along with setting the table for the Charger offense Ramey also finished first on the team in digs with 319 and aces with 77. Anderson in her senior season stepped up to lead the Chargers with 209 kills while finishing 2nd behind Ramey on the team with 59 aces and was third on the team with 262 digs.
“Piper and Annabel have really developed a great chemistry out there on the court with each other,” Dyson said. “Even compared to last season, having that extra year of experience and them being a year older, you could see how they’ve grown in just that short amount of time. I couldn’t have asked for two better leaders for our team this season. They were the girls who rallied the team when we needed to go on some runs this year during games. They’ve both played such a big role in taking us from where we were last year to now winning the county title and having the year we did.”
Leading the team to a county title and brining life back into North Montgomery volleyball is something that both Anderson and Ramey take great pride in doing. Together the Charger dynamic duo are the 2023 Journal Review Co- Volleyball Players of the Year.
“While we didn’t necessarily grow up together playing volleyball together, we’ve gotten really close over the last two years,” Anderson said. “After my sophomore year and her freshman year is when we really took off. We knew that we had a chance to play really well together so that’s something we really took to heart to get better and now it’s paid off.”
Ramey notes how it wasn’t just the on-court relationship that took the duo to new heights either.
“That was where it really began,” Ramey added. “When we got close off the court, it made playing with each other on the court that much easier.”
Both Ramey and Anderson didn’t just excel at one thing with the Chargers as shown by their statistics. They knew that in order to be as successful as they were, they’d have to be able to showcase their all-around volleyball skills in multiple facets. It’s something that Dyson noted in both of her star players.
“They were both tremendous all-around for us,” Dyson said. “For Annabel, she was making plays in both the front and back courts and the best thing about her is as a setter you have to see the court very well and she did. She knows the types of plays that she had to make against the different types of teams that we were seeing. Then with a player like Piper, she felt that upperclassmen leadership. It didn’t matter what we asked of her, she’d do it and did it well. She possesses a great skill set as a setter and she wants to get all of her teammates involved.”
Another aspect of this season was that both Ramey and Anderson were having fun on the court. They both noted how fun it is to play with each other.
“Annabel has a ton of drive inside of her and plays with a great energy on the court,” Ramey said of playing with Anderson. “Having that player out there who can light a fire under all of us made it really enjoyable to be out there with her.”
Anderson said it didn’t matter what the score might have read during a set or even the match. Ramey was one to be able to get the team together and let them know they were still in it.
“Piper was always very uplifting,” Anderson said. “Having her out there, I was always confident in my hits. We had great communication and that made it that more enjoyable when we were out there.”
For Anderson who capped off her volleyball career playing her best volleyball, she can say she ended on top. The senior noted how it was the most fun and while the Chargers may not have always had the most talented players on the court, they certainly had a strong bond and connection.
“This was by far the best year of my four years of playing volleyball,” Anderson said. “I don’t think we necessarily had the best skill set of players, but we had the best connection of players. That’s what really allowed us to accomplish most of the goals we set out for ourselves.”
Anderson was able to join Ramey on being named to the All-SAC 2nd team. Dyson added how the SAC is a very tough volleyball conference. Tri-West just saw its season end in the semi-state, Western Boone won the regular season SAC title and Lebanon and Danville always provide challenges.
“Both of their stats were right up there with some of the top players in the conference,” Dyson said. “It’s a reward for all the hard work they put in this season.”
