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Savannah's Higginbotham headed to volleyball's junior nationals

By Special to the Prep Sports Report | April 13, 2023

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Savannah’s Torrin Higginbotham, 15, qualified to compete in Chicago at the USA Volleyball Junior Nationals in the 16s age division July 3-6 as a member of the Palmetto Strikers, a club volleyball team based in Charleston, S.C.

Higginbotham, a sophomore at Savannah Arts Academy, will compete at a tournament considered the pinnacle of youth volleyball. The Palmetto Strikers won the Palmetto Region in the 16s age division in March to qualify.

In her first season with the Strikers, Higginbotham was a mainstay for the Strikers on offense and defense from her outside hitter position.

“I definitely would have recruited her,” said Strikers’ coach Danyel Bush, who was formerly the head volleyball coach at Charleston Southern University for 15 years. “When we saw her in tryouts, my eyes bugged out. She’s 6-1, she jumps, she passes, she hits, and her ball control whether passing or hitting is very smooth. She’s our No. 1 outside hitter in the age group … like hands down.”

Higginbotham and her older sister, Finn, a rising senior at Savannah Arts Academy, both tried out for the Strikers in November after deciding to make a change in their club volleyball affiliation. With both Higginbothams in the rotation, Savannah Arts Academy’s volleyball team finished ranked fourth in Georgia High School Association’s Class AAA.

“In all the years we’ve played, this is the first year either of my girls have qualified (for Junior Nationals),” said Finn and Torrin’s mother, Kim Obiala, who played college volleyball at the University of Tennessee. “They’ll get to play against some phenomenal teams in Chicago. The goal is always to qualify but this is the one you actually have to earn your way into, and just winning the region in and of itself is really cool.”

Torrin is able to hit out of both the front row and the back row, and she led the Strikers in kills during the season after trying out with more than 60 girls for only 12 spots.

“She’s got a really high ceiling, and she’s growing,” Bush said. “She has already improved this season, and she’s hitting the ball harder. Her ceiling is a really highly rated prospect.”

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The "Coach" Karl DeMasi has been teaching and coaching for the past 35 years on all levels of academia and athletics. One of his hobbies has been writing, announcing and talking about sports. DeMasi has been involved in the Savannah Area sports scene since 1995, and he created the high school magazine "The Prep Sports Report" in 2000. In 2010, the "Coach" started broadcasting The Karl DeMasi Sports Report. He's still going strong, broadcasting on Facebook live and Twitter live every Saturday morning. You gotta love it!


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