Reign-elle
Rainelle Dunlevy earns The Review volleyball?Player of the Year honors for second year in a rowDavid Grimes / dgrimes@reviewonline.com
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NEW MANCHESTER - If someone came across Rainelle Dunlevy that person may not even get the chance to figure out that the Oak Glen student is one of the top volleyball athletes in the state of West Virginia and in the Ohio Valley region.
Currently, her trophies and awards are kept in a box - a big box - in her remodeled bedroom.
Oak Glen head coach Ethel Riser said Dunlevy will win an award and won't even tell her about it. Riser added she'll eventually find out about it until a week later, usually in a casual conversation with Dunlevy's mother.
But this senior girl, who admitted that she doesn't like to talk about herself, has a long list of accomplishments that have helped the Golden Bears reach the state tournament two years in a row.
"Rainelle doesn't like to brag about herself," Riser said. "She puts the team first, you can tell by how she plays."
And, boy, did she play.
The four-year varsity player racked up 28 aces, 406 kills and was involved in 152 blocks in her senior season when the Bears made it to the state semifinal game. Her play this year has also earned her a spot on the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission (WVSSAC) AA Volleyball First-Team as a captain, the WVSSAC AA All-Tournament team, Ohio Valley Athletic Conference (OVAC) AAA All-Conference team, OVAC AAA All-Star team and Dunlevy was chosen to play in the West Virginia All-Star North vs South volleyball game this Sunday.
She has named Athlete of the Week by 106.3 The River in October and was part of the team that was the OVAC AAA Champions, OVAC All-Conference and the West Virginia AA sectional and regional champions.
She was participated on the Oak Glen team that won the Chester VFW Post 6450 Volleyball Invitational, one of Dunlevy's favorite moments this season.
She said it was very gratifying to win that even since her team had never won it before and it was their own tournament, hosted in their town's backyard.
Through all the merits and accomplishments, Dunlevy still remains focused on the team, always using "we" when describing her past years on the volleyball court.
"We did pretty good," the Oak Glen senior said, before taking a moment and adding, "We did really well."
Being on the court for all four years of her high school career, Dunlevy moved up the ranks to become one of the team leaders. From a "scared" freshman girl taking the court the first time to the hard-hitting, court awareness star today, Dunlevy has stepped nicely into the leadership role to guide her team into repeat state-tournament trips in her junior and senior years.
"She played a key leadership role," Riser said. "She was a four-year starter and had the most experience. She's an all-around, excellent player. She just doesn't hit from the front, she passes in the back."
One important characteristic Riser said Dunlevy possesses is "court sense" which allows her to find the open pockets on the opponent's court by being aware of all the opposing players' positions.
"Players like her are few and far between," the Oak Glen head coach said, adding Dunlevy can really hit the ball hard, can block and plays an overall good game.
She strove to be the best in games and in practice.
Dunlevy would often suggest putting up errant sets so she could work on the in-game moments better. Instances like this has helped Dunlevy grow and mold into the player that she is today, Riser said.
The Oak Glen volleyball standout praised all her teammates and especially pointed out her setters that have helped her out and played a vital part in all of her own accomplishments. She specifically pointed out MacKenzie Bailey who really helped her and her teammates shine on the court this year.
Dunlevy added she's looking forward in taking the court with Bailey during the North vs South match up this weekend which may be the final time Dunlevy takes to the courts in competitive form.
It's been about six years since Dunlevy walked onto the volleyball court.
She played in middle school and then continued into high school making the varsity squad. The practices, camps, workouts and games have all whizzed by Dunlevy's teenage life. She said she enjoyed them, but she is ready to enjoy post-volleyball life as well.
With only several more months left in her senior year, Dunlevy said she "just wants to relax" and be with her friends after school and just live life. She has heard collegiate volleyball is like a full-time job, so she's not sure if she's ready to jump back into the competition quite yet. But, she added she's not 100 percent set in stone about not playing.
She'll be enjoying the high school life in the meantime and will probably be keeping all of her merits to herself as usual.
She won't mention her numerous awards, plaques, trophies or her spots on all-conference, all-state teams.
Instead, stories about Caitlin Asbury, Bailey, Emily McElhaney, Payden Eckleberry, Emily Frederick, Lacee Porter, Abby Tice, coach Riser and other past teammates will be the main topics of volleyball conversation.
To find out about Dunlevy's playing career, one could take a look at the many photographs the proud parents and excited fans grabbed from the past four years and try to see Number 4 in action.
If you're at the Dunlevy household, ask to look in the box.
