The 2024 season was another successful one for the Gainesville volleyball team as the Hurricanes finished 15-9, won their second straight district title and advanced to the regional playoffs under first-year head coach Jerica Carter-Mitchell.
Gainesville won the district title despite playing the season without setter Chloe Petrik, a Mainstreet Daily News first team All Area selection in 2023 who tore her ACL during the summer and missed the entire season.
But Petrik is on the mend and signed a letter of intent to Division III Colby College in Maine on Wednesday.
Petrik was joined at the signing day ceremony by Nicole Ellis, who signed with North Carolina A&T in Greensboro.
“I was really looking forward to coaching Chloe, but unfortunately that didn’t work out,” Carter-Mitchell said. “Despite being injured she had been a starter since her freshman year, and was very helpful to the team. She knows the culture at GHS, so even though she wasn’t there on the court she was very helpful off the court.”
Petrik led the Hurricanes with 735 assists her junior year as GHS won 20 games and a district title. She explained what made her decision to go north to Maine for college.
“When I went to visit, I fell in love with the culture and I was really turned on to their winning culture,” Petrik said. “I also liked how far the program has come in a short period of time. There are also a lot of opportunities outside of volleyball.”
“I tore my ACL in July and I’m about halfway back,” Petrik added. “I won’t be 100 percent until the end of club season, but expect to be ready for my freshman year in college.”
Ellis had 150 kills and 100 blocks in her senior year at GHS. She signed with the largest HBCU in the country at North Carolina A&T.
“There’s a lot to do up there (in Greensboro). It also snows up there, and I’ve never seen snow before,” Ellis said. “I should be able to start and play a lot right away. This year’s team (at A&T) has a really good record and I’m excited about joining them.”
Carter-Mitchell knows Ellis meant so much to this Gainesville team in 2024.
“She (Ellis) was a three-year starter who had 178 blocks in her career and 100 of those were this season,” Carter-Mitchell said. “I knew she would be good for us but didn’t realize how good until the season started.”