How a middle school teacher helped Ardrey Kell High standout discover volleyball

One could argue that a seventh-grade language arts teacher has a role in Ardrey Kell advancing to the 4A state volleyball championship Saturday afternoon.

After all, the standout senior outside hitter on the Knights squad was “discovered” by a middle school teacher.

And that discovery, Alexis Shelton, will lead Ardrey Kell (31-1) against Green Level (26-1) in the state title match at 4 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum, on the N.C. State campus.

Shelton was an excellent track athlete, specializing in the pentathlon, and played some soccer into her early teen years.

“She was actually a national-level pentathlete,” says her father, Brandon. “But her language arts teacher was the volleyball coach, and she talked Alexis into playing.”

Shelton was nearly 6 feet tall at the time.

The teacher was Sara Kosik, at Community House Middle. And she proved to be a good talent scout. Shelton, now 6-2, has become one of the state’s top players and is a University of Oklahoma commit.

“Alex fell in love with it,” her father says.

Alexis Shelton remembers it a bit differently.

“That first season was kind of rough,” she recalls. “But it got better from there.”

She began playing on a club team and has become a powerful offensive weapon. She has dominated the front line on most of the Knights’ matches, but she has skills in other aspects of the game.

Shelton leads the team in blocks (72), is second to Giovana Salinas in digs (266) and is third in service aces.

If all that isn’t enough, Alexis Shelton is a good recruiter. Her sister, Camryn, a sophomore setter, started playing volleyball after watching her sister.

“She said, ‘That looks like fun … let me try it out,’ ” Brandon Shelton says.

And fun is what the Knights are having this year, Alexis Shelton says.

“This team is a lot of fun,” she says. “We’re really honest with one another. We feel comfortable telling each other what we think, without anyone getting upset. We enjoy one another’s company.”

Shelton has been at her best when the Knights needed it the most this season.

She had a season-high 32 kills in Ardrey Kell’s five-set victory over Kings Mountain on Sept. 27 and 27 in a four-set loss to D.H. Conley on Sept. 11. She averaged 5.0 kills per set during the season but picked up the pace to 7.4 per set in the playoffs.

She is among four Ardrey Kell players who were part of the 2019 team that reached the state championship before losing to Green Hope. Shelton says it takes special effort to win a state title.

“The four of us who were there two years ago know what to expect,” she says. “It takes a lot of communication. We know the team we’re facing is very good.”

And Shelton says the Knights gradually have been getting acclimated to the tougher competition.

“We’ve been playing good teams since the start of the playoffs,” she says. “It gets a little tougher each time.”

Ardrey Kell’s coach, Zoe Bell, knows a little about this state championship thing. She guided Providence to four state titles in a 29-year stint at that school, and has one championship and three runner-up finishes since 2009 at Ardrey Kell.

“This team has a lot of talent, and I think there were a lot of expectations,” Bell says. “I’m happy that we were able to do this. Now we need to finish the job.”

Reaching the state championships in her senior season seems fitting, Shelton says.

“This is a team with a lot of drive,” she says. “We’ve had that all year. It’s a special group.”

Scouting Green Level

The Gators, out of Cary, are in their second year of varsity sports. They aren’t as tall on the front line as Ardrey Kell but have several excellent 5-11 and 6-0 hitters. The leader is Ellie Sampson, a 5-11 junior who is averaging 3.7 kills per set. The playmaker is Halle Gibson, a 5-9 senior who averages 11 assists per set.

Sampson also is excellent on the serve. She had three aces in a key stretch Tuesday, when the Gators edged D.H. Conley 3-2 in the semifinals.

This is the first time that Green Level has played for a state championship in any sport.

Championship Saturday

State titles also will be decided Saturday in 1A, 2A and 3A.

The opener at Reynolds Coliseum is at 11 a.m., with Camden County (27-0) facing Southwestern Randolph (27-5) for the 2A championship.

Then at 1:30 p.m., North Iredell (26-1) faces Cedar Ridge (30-2) in 3A. North Iredell won the 3A state title in 2008 and was second in 2010 and 2011. Cedar Ridge was the 2A runner-up in 2004 and 2009.

The final match, at 6:30 p.m., pits Union Academy (28-2) against Neuse Charter (26-2) in 1A. Both teams are appearing in the state volleyball finals for the first time.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle