Williams coaches, Rickman remembered, at Queen's of the Hardwood

Among those on hand for the ceremony remembering Erica Rickman at the Queens of the Hardwood match were, from left: Front--Coach Melissa Williams, Matthew Rickman, Melissa Rickman and Kortney Toombs. Back--Barry Rickman. (Times photo/Tim Blair) [Click to enlarge]

The tight-night family that is Northeast Arkansas volleyball, came together Friday night at one of the Mecca's of that sport in this region for the third annual Queen's of the Hardwood match. The event, a fundraiser for City Youth Ministries of Jonesboro, was held at Westside High School and featured some of the top talent from this year's graduating class.

Serving as assistant coach for one of the squads was PHS volleyball coach, and former standout athlete, Melissa Williams. And during the break between games one and two those in attendance took time to remember 2007 Piggott grad Erica Rickman, who lost her battle with brain cancer earlier this year.

Rickman, who had gone on to play softball for Williams Baptist prior to being diagnosed, played in the first-ever Queen's of the Hardwood back in 2007 at Jonesboro High School. During the break Williams, her parents Barry and Melissa Rickman, her brother Matthew, former teammate Kortney Toombs and her coaches from the first Queen's event joined together for the presentation ceremony by Renell Woods of City Youth Ministries. Woods presented a plaque to the Rickman family, as the crowd rose for an extended standing ovation. Then it was back to the match.

Williams was on hand to serve as assistant coach to Margie McGee of Valley View of the East squad, while the north squad was coached by JoBeth Mathis of Jonesboro High School assisted by Greene County Tech's Darlene Bowlin. The two squads were made up of 22 seniors from 13 different schools in the area, and represented some of the top talent.

Although it wasn't as important as the reason the players were there, the five game match did go to the East squad 25-17, 12-25, 25-20, 12-25 and 15-4. More importantly was the more than $5,000 raised for City Youth Ministries, up about 20-percent from last year according to Woods.

For Williams, the Rickman family and her friends and fans the occasion offered a sense of closure as "Rick" was remembered for the true champion she was, both on and off the court.