Monroeville continues to honor Giles

MONROEVILLE — Kendra Snook doesn't want there to be a gap. Four years ago on Sept. 17, 2021, Delaney Giles, 17, died of complications from injuries sustained in a single-car crash 10 weeks earlier. The three-sport athlete played volleyball, basketball, and track and field at the school. She was also an active member in 4-H, among other activities. On Wednesday, the Monroeville volleyball team hosted its "Delaney game" against Norwalk, a four-set win on Steve Moore Court. But the night also marked the first time when enough time had passed that none of the current players for the Eagles were in high school when Giles died. Before the match, Snook spent 10 minutes with her team explaining who Delaney was. "I feel like it's my job to make sure she is always remembered within this program and that future generations know who she was," Snook said. "It's been four years, so these kids were all in junior high and elementary school when she passed, even though to me it feels like yesterday." Playing for Delaney in the weeks and months after in 2021, the Eagles ended up reaching the Division IV state semifinals. Throughout the run, hundreds of people wore t-shirts with a purple butterfly design for Delaney's favorite color and social-butterfly personality. At Wednesday's match, purple was again the theme with the Monroeville coaches, players, students, and spectators. The coaching staff wore their "Forever an Eagle" purple shirts with Delaney's No. 8 on the back. "Tonight is special because of Delaney and with her parents and family here," Snook said. "I just told the girls that Delaney's favorite sport wasn't volleyball. She played basketball and ran track, but she always gave her 100 percent here. "She was a great teammate, full of energy, full of excitement, and just played hard." In the spring of 2024, Monroeville High School also opened a brand-new track and field complex. It includes a memorial pavilion named for Delaney. Both the building and the 2021 state semifinal banner hanging in the gym have a purple butterfly on them. Also inside the Monroeville Athletic Complex locker room, the volleyball team has a sign that reads 'Play like Delaney.' "We want the girls to come out and play hard with energy and excitement like she did," Snook said. "If our kids do that, and remember that volleyball is a game that is supposed to be fun, then we will be a very successful program for years to come."