Kacey McCaw was a coach’s daughter who could tell you exactly where she and her teammates needed to be on the court at all times, those who knew her say, and Rhyan Prather was just like her mom — competitive, passionate and full of energy.
The two 12-year-old girls were spitting images of Lesley Prather and Carrie McCaw, their mothers, according to friends and fellow coaches. And the car crash that killed the four of them near St. Louis on Friday as they made their way to a tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, has left a void in Louisville’s vibrant volleyball community that crosses generations.
Preteen and teenage girls shouldn’t have to make the choice KIVA volleyball players and parents were faced with Friday night, coach Courtney Robison said.
“After the prayer service, we brought the girls together and the parents,” Robison said Saturday. “We told them it was their decision. We could absolutely pull them from the tournament tonight, and we could pull them from the tournament at any point.
One of the little girls on our team just raised her hand and said, ‘I think that Rhyan and Kacey would want us there and want us to compete for them.’ And they all agreed. It was hard to swallow, as an adult, to hear 12-year-olds say that.”
Robison is a 27-year-old woman, but the 12-year-old girl she once was also felt the impact of the Valentine’s Day tragedy.
