A potentially historic year is brewing for the River Bluff volleyball team. 

The Gators are nearing the end of their 2025 season and looking to run through their region and come out as champions. The team began this week 12-7 overall and 2-0 in region play. A big game against Chapin on Tuesday determined who holds first place heading down the stretch. 

“ I came into the season thinking that after tryouts and after the first couple weeks of preseason practices, I came in thinking this could be one of the best teams that we've had at River Bluff,” Gator head coach Bryan Piro said. “ The dynamic of the team is really good. We're pretty deep at a lot of our positions. I'm really excited with what they've done with the start of this season.” 

Seniors Alexis Jodie and Caroline Tucker are two of the team’s go-to players. Tucker plays outside hitter and leads the team in kills this season. Jodie is a setter and racks up assists on a nightly basis. 

“Those two are the ones we rely on a lot,” Piro said.

Other key contributors this year include freshman Karis Kettering, sophomore Peyton Capps and senior Oprah Tchuendem. 

Having experienced players such as Jodie, Tucker and Tchuendem makes Piro’s job a lot easier. He spends less time teaching technique and more time focused on game plan and strategy. 

“It takes a lot of pressure off of me,” he said. “ It really is more of a player-led team, and in my experience, in all my years of coaching, the most successful teams I've ever had are the ones that the players are in control of.”

Piro has lofty expectations for his team. He feels a region title and maybe even a state title are within reach, but it will take some work. 

The Gators have historically had success. The team finished second in its region in each of the past two seasons after consecutive years of first-place finishes. River Bluff has finished no lower than second in the region standings since 2017. Despite the region triumphs, the team has still never won a state title. 

2025 could be the year the team breaks through, if all goes right. 

“Our good is really, really good, but our bad has a tendency to be really bad,” Piro said. “If we can find a way to raise our floor, our ceiling is pretty high. When we're clicking and we look good, we're a fun team to watch.”

The Gators got a chance to work through some problems earlier this season. The team suffered a five-game losing streak after a stretch of mistake-filled play. It gave the team a chance to catch some of its flaws early, so hopefully, they won’t come back and bite them later.

“ The fortunate thing for us is all that happened outside of the region, and so we still go back and we talk about the goals and re-remind them,” Piro said. “ All the goals that we have set are still on the table. … Four of those five losses are against probably top 10 teams in the state, and so we're losing, but it's competitive. We're only losing by two or three points, and it's back and forth. None of those teams are  just coming out here and wiping the floor with us.”

River Bluff has seven region and a few tournament games left this season before the playoffs. The Gators will have a tough road ahead in the region with teams like Lexington, Chapin and Dutch Fork waiting for them. 

“ It's just not overlooking a team,” Piro said. “ This is the first obstacle ahead of us that we have to overcome to continue to maintain the goals that we have set for ourselves.”

Remaining schedule

Sept. 25 - vs Dutch Fork

Sept. 26-27 - Tournament

Sept. 30 - vs Lexington

Oct. 2 - vs White Knoll

Oct. 7 - at Irmo 

Oct. 9 - vs Chapin 

Oct. 10-11 - Tournament 

Oct. 14 - vs Dutch Fork

Oct. 16 - at Lexington