MEDIA DAY 1 - HIGHLIGHTS

 ALEXANDER  — Arkansas Volleyball Network held Media Days Thursday and Friday at Summerwood Sports as 39 schools came to promote their teams and the upcoming season.

Here’s are highlights of the schools that participated on Thursday.

 Bryant has a new coach in Paige Gantar, who previously coached at Episcopal Collegiate. Gantar takes over a team that went 9-20-3 under LeighAnn Back.

Gantar, who led Episcopal to the Class 3A state semifinals wants to get Bryant back on track after a subpar season a year ago.

“II’m eager to win. Also, I want the kids to love and enjoy the sport they are playing and leave the Bryant program learning how to be mentally tough,” said Gantar.

“Coming in as a new coach, I like how they believe and are buying into the program. I like the Intensity and eagerness. They come 10-15 minutes before practice and buying into what I want as a coach. They are ready to learn new things and get uncomfortable.”

One of Bryant’s new players is sophomore Brinkley Gigerich, who had 216 kills, 151 digs, 56 blocks and 12 digs at Hot Springs Lakeside. Gigerich wan’t at media days, but Gantar said, “Brinkley is very strong. I don’t want to be on the opposite side of the net. She’s one of the strongest arms in the state. I’m very excited she came over. I coached her in club.”

 One year after reaching the state finals, Greenbrier went 17-13 and lost to Shiloh Christian in the 5A quarterfinals.

The Lady Panthers lost three seniors off their state runner-up team and did not have Marlie Crossman, who had a back injury during the 2025 season. 

Crossman said she’s ready to go, adding last year was rough, but has spent plenty of team in the weight room. “I won’t say it disappears,” said Crossman on putting the injury behind her. “You build muscle and work hard in the gym. Mentally you can’t be scared and can’t think like that.”

Head coach Katie Huff said the big thing is being consistent and learning to handle tough situations. Crossman and setter Lily Parker, who were starters on the state runner-up team. Huff said they know it’s like to get to the start finals and lose.

“Two years ago, off the court we team unity,” said Huff. “We had no business on paper being in Hot Springs, but they fought hard and genuinely cared about each other. In their minds, there was nobody better than them and had  the will to win.”

 A year ago, Marion won the Class 5A state champion and head coach Lisa Beasley sees no reason why her team can’t defend its title.

“This group, they want to do it for their senior year. Last year they played a big role. Motivating this group is easy, I gave them time off, they came back working,” said Beasley. “Last year, we did what we did, but we had a lot of outside voices and we had to stay focused on the court. This team been a load of laughs, I have to run them out of dressing room, they love each other.”

Marion has four players who starter and/or played a lot last year and nine seniors back. The top player Is middle blocker Kendall Brown, who recently committed to Alabama A&M after originally committing to Mississippi State.

Brown said she made the change because of the NCAA’s new “Five in five” rule regarding eligibility because she wanted to go somewhere where she can play immediately.

 Lake Hamilton went 15-8 and reached the state tournament, losing 3-1 to Siloam Springs in the first round.

The Lady Wolves knocked off Hot Springs Lakeside 3-2 which prevented the Lady Rams from clinching a share of the 5A-South Conference title.

Head coach Whitney Frye, who is in her second year, hopes to build off the momentum.

“We had a good season and created new things and added more new things,” said Frye. “We have five returning starters. We’re building stronger and working on new plays and new creativity.

“Last year was huge, we had our first win over Lakeside in 10 years. The girls were aiming for it and came in motivated. We knew we weren’t going to give up. We came back game five and took the victory. We know how it feels to keep pushing. We also took Benton to game five.”

 Harmony Grove, in its fifth year of existence, went 2-16-1, but head coach Scott Adkins remains excited about the potential has team has. 

“Last year, we put an empties last year on offense and smashing the ball,” said Adkins. “This year, not so much because it’s not how hard you hit the ball. ‘Things are evolving things to a new game, and the girls bought into increasing volleyball IQ and becoming a new team. My senior leaders have been tremendous, already making an impact

“We were disappointed last year, but we’ve learned a lot, adding new skills, refining how to do it. This is such as fun sport, it’s their team and we moved up a whole bunch of sophomores who contributed right away.

“We always want to win, develop the girls into young ladies, make postseason. We missed the regional by a couple games. We’re looking to make playoffs and surprise some people.”

 Conway won its second consecutive Class 6A state championship and the Lady Cats have to replace Class 6A state tournament MVP Wren Jones, setter London Cabantac, middle blocker Sylvia King and outside hitter Anna Smith.

Head coach Laura Crow is looking at three starting spots that could be filled by players who played on the junior-varsity level, but she’s not too concerned.

“I feel we always have high expectations,” said Crow. “A lot of times when we graduate a senior class, I don’t know how they’ll do it, but they settle in to their roles, I try to get a feel by trying different lineups to see what works well.”

In the summer, Crow said Ella Orahood has been doing a good job settling people down. She said Adddy Swindle has stepped up and helped provide a back-row attack.

 Jonesboro has a new coach in Jessica Walton, who takes over Canaan Groesbeck, who is now the assistant at Conway.

Walton was the head coach at Annie Camp Junior High, but previously was an assistant at Mount St. Mary and worked in Neosho, Mo.

“We moved to Jonesboro two years ago from Missouri,” said Walton. “I grew up in North Little Rock and coached junior high which was a lot of fun and I loved the junior high girls and once Coach G made the move, I was asked if it wanted to come up. “This is not my first time as high school head coach. I can scout and be more advanced in practice planning.”

While Walton has been using the summer to evaluate and experiment, she knows some tough decisions regarding playing time are going to be coming soon. “I’ve told them tough decisions are coming and we’re going to base a lot of decisions based on statistics.” 

Guy-Perkins went 19-9 and lost to Piggott in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament. Head coach Chip McDonald hopes his team can get back and go a little farther this year, but must replaced four seniors in Alliyah Bryant, Ryleigh Passmore, Eden Elliott and Jayce Varnell. "We had great seniors last year who were good leaders for us,” said McDonald. “It’s a growing process, Zoe (Kussmaul)  played a lot for us last year, Trisity (Land)  played a lot of JV minutes and now it’s there opportunity and there chance her step up for us. It’s an ongoing process for us.” With eight players on the roster, McDonald said he might take advantage of the new two libero rule, especially with Clementine Green and Chloe Green.

Little Rock Christian hasn’t won a match in the state tournament since the 2022 season when it beat Van Buren in the first round, but head coach Lacey Rowan feels she her best team since winning the 5A title in 2021. 

“I feel like we’re right there,” said Rowan. “Our culture is right here. We’re bonding and bringing in some young players, for us. I have three left handed power hitters and figuring out how to work that in. I have one right-handed pin hitter, one who can play the middle, We’ve had some who’ve been out early with injuries, but we see others stepping up. We seem to have some flexibility and running a lot of different roles which is good for us in long run.” 

Rowan’s roster has some versatility with outside hitter/defensive specialist Sadie Costello (178 kills, 30 aces, 205 digs), right-side hitter Piper Anderson (205 kills, 35 blocks), libero/defensive specialist Ava Jeffus (270 digs, 24 aces), outside hitter Ava Field (226 kills, 105 digs, 26 aces, 14 blocks) and defensive specialist/libero Abby Robinson (446 digs, 32 aces, 82 assists). “Our defense is one of the strongest in the state,” said Rowan. “They work well together, they work so long and that’s been helpful with people under them, learning from them.”

 Luke Davis has been coaching at Conway St. Joseph for 20 years and has been to the state finals in 2009 and 2010 and the past two years, has been knocked out in the quarterfinals.

He’s hoping for a breakthrough led by two cousins in Anna Nabholz (315 kills, 132 blocks) and Emily Nabholz and middle blocker Kinley Freyaldenhoven (207 kills, 510 assists, 65 blocks).

“Last year, had one senior, libero Hollie Morgan, and have some girls coming back, and have some freshman pushing for playing time, and have competition for spots,” said Davis. “I’m one of those coaches who looks at losses way more than do the wins. Our biggest loss was in the state tournament to Ozark Catholic, how do we take that? Yes we won conference, Yes we won regionals, not only that, we have two seniors this year.

“I’ve been doing this for a while, and my assistant coach (Jessica Strack) been with me for 18 years, we started talking about it. We made it to finals 2009, 2010 and haven’t been back. What do we need to do different. What do we need to do to change? One thing we’re really pushing is we’ve had size, but been slow, now need to add size and speed.”

 Clinton has a new coach in Rachel Ballard, who previously coached softball at Southside Bee Branch and volleyball at Marshall.

Ballard takes over a team that went 2-15 a year ago in Class 4A, but drops to 3A this year.

Ballard wants to give her team a clean slate and provide a positive attitude. “My main goal is to foster a strong mentality and that they grow and gain confidence, I never have to check on their attitudes and build a strong goal mentality,” said Ballard.

Her players seem to welcome Ballard as a breath of fresh air. 

Junior Vanessa Hunt said, “She’s been a big change. We’ve been in weight room a lot and working a lot on chemistry.”

Sophomore Alexis Williams said, “A clean slate is always good and we’re looking forward to new look.”

 Mayflower Monty Smith has two big players to replace in libero Miranda Leslie (664 digs) and outside hitter Lydia Matthews (489 kills) from a team that reached the 3A quarterfinals.

While the production is going to be tough to replace, he believes his team can be good again. “You can’t replace the production, with the people we have, (Patience) Webb didn’t play last year, but will be an asset. We have some big hitters, sophomore Millie Gordon will be great. Jordan (Fusilier) was in top 20 in kills (319 kills). She’s a terrific player.”

Webb, who rolled an ankle last year, had 175 kills and 39 blocks as a sophomore in 2024. 

Smith likes what he’s seen during the summer. “We  learn we have to build chemistry with each other again. We’ve got to get used to one another. What I like about camps how they enjoy around each other and get to know one another.”

 Ashtin Pennington is in her first year after previously coaching at Dover.

She takes over a team that went 6-18-1 last year and 2-12 in the 5A-West Conference. While she’s not promising a quick turnaround, she likes what she’s seen during the summer.

“The main thing I’ve seen is we’re being competitive when we go on the floor, having a competitive mind set and having fun,” said Pennington. “Winning is fun, we’ve got to have fun while we’re competing. Watching film last year, having fun seemed lacking.

“What I’ve noticed is they’re coachable. Each match, I tell them something to focus on. They’ve wanted to compete and get better which makes them buy in and they tell me what’s the next thing. They want to be part of a group, not too good for anything.”

Pennington said the biggest obstacle is learning how to finish.

 Rogers clinched the 6A-West Conference’s final spot for the state tournament with victories over Fort Smith Southside and Springdale in the final week of the regular season.

New coach Lindsey Whipp said it was a great feeling going to the state tournament. “At end of regular season, we finished on a high those last two games. There were a lot of what ifs and buts and we relied a lot on a lot of other teams losing and we took advantage of it. For a lot of upperclassmen, it was a great feeling.

Whipp, who was an assistant to Christina Lawrence last year, has taken her team to a camp at the University of Oklahoma and has wanted to get her team getting uncomfortable and trying new things. She said the first two years as an assistant, she worked on building relationships with players which has helped her build trust now that she’s the head coach.

"This year, for the 2026-2027 season, we’re excited to show athleticism and explosiveness and all the team building we’ve done,” said Whipp. “The 6A West a lot of tops dogs,”

 Beebe, under first-year coach Jessica Morrison, went from 3-18 to 9-12 a year ago with an 8-8 record in the 5A-Central, one game away from earning a spot in the state tournament.

“What we accomplished, from 3-18 to 9-12, could have done better,” said Morrison. “We had some injuries, changed the culture. I came in like a wrecking ball and came up one game short of making it to state. This group for girls has worked so hard in offseason. As soon as we got done and went hard into workouts. I’m sad we’re the ones we had to leave. We had matches last year where they could have won and now we have to switch that.”

In 2026, the Lady Badgers move to the 5A-East

“We’re moving to the East, I know the East is a tough area, they know they were one game short, they are going to fight to get there,” said Morrison. “One thing they know, this is not going to be a walk in the park. Those schools, they have their coaches for years, they have amazing programs. We are not going to let their name and anything stop us. Every game is up in the air.”

Morrison said the biggest improvement she saw in her first year was a level of discipline on and off the court. She said she didn’t have to tell people what to do. “If I can’t trust you with the little things, how can I trust you with the big things,” said Morrison.

 After missing the Class 4A state tournament a year ago, Malvern head coach Patricia Glover hopes to get back into the state tournament with five seniors in her rotation.

“All of these seniors, have started our Pee Wee program and really have excelled and I’ve enjoyed having them all the way through,” said Glover. “Last year, we went 8-4 in the conference, went to regionals. I’m trying to get tradition back at Malvern of going to state. Last year, Pulaski Academy was really salty. We're playing hard, having fun, excelling and really doing well. We have potential to be the best team we’ve had in a long time.”

Malvern will be in a new conference with Haskell Harmony Grove along with Arkadelphia, Camden Fairview, Magnolia and Watson Chapel.

 Morrilton went 16-10 and lost to Wynne 3-2 in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament. 

“We’re looking at it as a learning experience,” said Morrilton head coach Candice Lawless. “Every loss is a lesson to learn and pick up what we did wrong. We have a tendency to get a mid game, mid season slump, I’m figuring out how to prevent that.”

This year, the Lady Devil Dogs bring back senior outside hitter Lily Harbin (326 kills, 274 digs) and sophomore libero Kinleigh Meeler (370 digs). 

“Lily is our offensive powerhouse, was on a club team that qualified for nationals,” said Lawless. “We need to keep her healthy. Kinleigh threw her into the hot seat as the libero and her serve-receive was 2.0. I’m super excited to have both of them.”

 Episcopal Collegiate, which has reached the semifinals the past two seasons, has a new coach in Rebecca Niedzwiedz, who formerly was an assistant to Dani Moura at Pulaski Academy.

She has to replace four starters — Laney Marsh, Emma Schnackenberg, Elois Moore and Jules Johnson — from last year’s team. 

“You can never fill those shoes because they helped the program get to where it is,” said Niedzwiedz. “It’s these girls turn to get it done and use it to their advantage.”

Several players talked about having versatility and filling new roles.

Senior middle blocker/outside hitter Sadie Janes said, “We have a lot of versatility and we’re trying to get everyone into filling new roles and have some new girls come up and play on the back row.”

Senior setter/right-side hitter Lauren Kate Fryar said, “We’ve been working on connections with the hitters and we’re super excited to where coach puts us.”

With defending champion Mansfield dropping down to 2A and runner-up Harding Academy going up to 4A, Niedzwiedz said Class 3A is open, but it is not going to be easy. “It’s definitely challenging. Volleyball has its ups and downs. If we can get out and go far, anything we can happen.”

 ALEXANDER — Arkansas Volleyball Network Media Days continued Friday at Summerwood Sports with 21 of the 39 coaches speaking on their teams to promote the season and the sport.

Here are the highlights of each school’s segment at Media Days.

 Valley View which has won 16 state state championships under head coach Margie McGee, is not used to being the underdog, but McGee thinks her team has closed the gap on 5A state champion Marion, which is a conference foe in the 5A-East.

“I feel we have the pieces to put together a competitive lineup,” said McGee. “Defense wins championships and gives you opportunities. We have good blocking defense which is a huge factor for us. When you play an athletic defense team like Marion, you have to have good defense, good serve and ball control and have a great night. The pieces of the puzzle are there We have to bring our A game.”

McGee, who brought three seniors — Abi Dalton, Barrett Lieblong and Kate Calhoun — was asked if every season is championship or bust. She said, “We’re always gunning for the championship game. Whether we make it there or not, it doesn’t make or break the season. With our tradition and history, they feel that pressure because they put in hard work to get there. Getting back to final game and getting a chance is what I prepare for, we have a whole load of talent and every single year, we can tap into that.”

When the players were asked, they made it clear they don’t want to leave Valley View without a state championship ring. “All seniors want it, we know we’re capable,” said senior Barrett Lieblong.

Senior Abi Dalton said, “There is pressure which drives us because we want it. We don’t have ring yet.”

 Brooke White, formerly an assistant, takes over after Michelle Shoppach retired in April.

White said, “I’m really excited to be named new head coach, I’ve coached them since eighth grade and known them for a long time.”

White takes over a team that lost went 21-10 and won the 5A-South Conference despite losing nine seniors from the previous season. White said the team has done a good job of buying in to what she expects from them.

“We have a strong program, and we want to keep the tradition,” said White. “With the style of the team, we want to use seniors as a sounding board which is what I’ve done since I was named coach.

“We have a lot of maturity on the court and they know what to expect. Last year, a lot of the girls were sophomores and didn’t know and weren’t in situations before.”

 Bauxite advanced to the Class 4A quarterfinals a year ago, falling 3-1 to Brookland in the quarterfinals.

This year, under second-year coach Haley Nelson, the Miners are hosting the 4A state tournament and hope that helps their ability to advance to Hot Springs.

“We are excited,” said Nelson. “I’m excited because the one thing we go in each year what it looks like to host. We want to have that home game advantage on our side and have another positive thing on our side.”

The Miners are led by 5-9 junior setter/outside hitter Asa Perry (427 kills, 361 assists, 319 digs, 36 blocks), who has committed to Oregon State.

“I have family in Oregon and both of my parents are college athletes and I was reached out by them and they were consistent in recruiting me,” said Perry. “I love everything about the program, and I am so excited to start my journey there.”

With the loss of five seniors, Nelson said having good communication is going to be a key. “There’s no excuse not to have that on the court. It will help the flow of the game. We’re going to have a lot of sophomores stepping into big roles. We want to do things in our control and allow things to play out.

 After missing the state tournament in 2025, Prairie Grove head coach Lindsey Biocic thinks her team should get back to the sate tournament.

“I’m really excited about his group,” said Biocic. “We have seven seniors, who’ve been together since eighth grade and been playing volleyball together. All have contributed in years past and are really excited to take over leadership roles and done phenomenal job so far. I’m really impressed with way embraced underclassmen and have been fun to watch.

“I think we’re there and we’re going to accomplish that. This team plays well together. There’s something about this group and something about this team translates on the court which contribute to a lot of our success.”

“It’s rare to have two 6-rotation players coming back,” said Biocic. “I’m excited for their leadership role because they’re both talented and skilled and I’m excited for them.”

 Maddie Back is in her second year as the head coach at North Little Rock. Despite going 6-13 a year ago, the Charging Wildcats made the state tournament and fell 3-0 to Fort Smith Southside in the first round.

This year, Back has a young team that has to replace five seniors. Out of the 22 players on the roster, 12 are sophomores. She said most of her time has been spent on working on discipline and being in the right spot.

Back said her big goal is to win more matches and be competitive. She said the one thing she has competitive drills and if the ball hits the floor and no one hustles after it, she’s resetting the match to the start regardless how far into the drill it has gone. 

More wins this year, finished last year with more wins win at Bryant, took a set from Cabot, win more, not lose in 3 sets, be competitive, just being sure, we’re in right spot, fighting for every single point.

A lot of the way girls get annoyed with me, if we’re in a drill that nobody goes for when it hits the floor, we’re going back to zero.

“I’ve seen a level of competitiveness this summer. When we played Shiloh and Northside, and Van Buren, we got up there, we stayed very, very close and competed for every single point. I’ve seen the competition level rise,” said Back.

 Cutter Morning Star a year ago went 9-13 and lost 3-0 to eventual state runner-up Taylor in the Class 3A South Regional.

Second-year head coach Gracie Chenowith  expects to have more chemistry on her team. “We have moved some freshman moved up who were runner up in there conference and bring a light hearted approach and a very different dynamic,” said Chenowith. “We have different players play club and have gotten more experience. They had really come in offseason and worked hard, bought in to what we’re trying to do and come together and be a good group of kids.”

Chenowith said she wants her team to faster on the defensive end and see where the ball is and have presence on the blocking end and not hide behind it. 

"My goals are to make state tournament and have that mental capacity and work ethic. We have really bought in to what it takes. My expectations are taking time to focus and be ready mentally and have more ball movement, have more tools in tool box and run a back row attack,” said Chenowith.

 Dave Carter, who is in his second year as the head coach at Pea Ridge, said the main thing he’s working is improving his team’s mental approach. 

He pointed to a loss to Berryville in last year’s conference tournament, where he said his team struggled against a team that finished 4-17.

“Our greatest weakness showed up in conference tournament,” said Carter. “We walked in and locked up and it showed up when we needed it the most. They know they can win and lose on any given night.”

Carter has said he has backed away from team camps this summer and has been focused more on building fundamentals and has seen some positive results. They want to do things well and have moved away from the fear of making mistakes and learning to ask questions, see self reflection and self correct,” said Carter. “We’re learning how to play together.”

 Maumelle head coach Savannah Jacoby is in her second year. After going 7-14 and 3-13 in the 5A-Central, Jacoby sees improvement, largely with many players who’ve played club ball in the offseason.

“Honestly, I’ve seen improvement in level of play and one of our biggest things was to go play club. My big push to play club somewhere. The Eggins twins (Ava and Nessa) have played at  EVA,, Dalchris (Ayukobi) played with EVA. I had some go to 501, and Little Rock Juniors and finally got on court, we saw a big increased in level of play,” said Jacoby.

The big challenge for the Hornets is playing in a conference where breaking through can be a tall order with defending 4A champion Pulaski Academy moving into the conference with Mount St. Mary, Little Rock Christian and Greenbrier.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work” said Jacoby. “We talked about lot about that since conference came out. Their eyes get big and it’s going to take a lot of grit. It takes us not making many mistakes, Those teams are very good at executing, not making mistakes, we have to make sure we can pass well and execute well.”

 A year ago, the Cabot Lady Panthers went 31-3, won the 6A-Central and spent seven weeks ranked No. 1 in a statewide poll. 

Unfortunately for Cabot, playing on their home floor in the 6A semifinals, they fell 3-1 to Fayetteville.

Head coach Anna Robertson hopes her team can take that one extra step and go to Hot Springs for the state finals.  “I try to have the motto one moment at a time and not look too far ahead,” said Robertson. “The girls still have a lot of drive and win one point at a time. We did get a conference championship, and I’m not sure last time we won conference title. Everything is still attainable, the energy is really good. We have our seniors pushing juniors, pushing sophomores, that’s our expectations.”

Cabot is relying on a strong defense led by junior setter/opposite hitter Olivia Ambeau (314 kills, 408 assists, 81 blocks), who has committed to Arizona; senior middle hitter Izzie Duncan (211 kills, 104 blocks); senior outside hitter Alexa Robertson (169 kills, 256 digs); junior libero Whitney Shepherd (296 digs) and senior liberty Mariah Bunn (242 digs).

Anna Robertson said, “Defense is one of our the strongest units. They don’t let anything fall around them. Our front line does a really good job reading hitters.”

Robertson said she plans on using the new two libero rule.

"I like two libero rule, we use it at club, we’ll do it when we start, we have two really strong liberos with different strengths."

 A 3-2 loss to Fayetteville in the regular season’s final match kept Fort Smith Northside out of the Class 6A state tournament.

This year, with the Lady Bears hosting the state tournament, head coach Matthew Waack hopes his team can play in the state tournament on its home floor.

“The way the season ended left me with a chip on my shoulder. We played hard and deserved a shot to go and the seniors want to go. The juniors haven’t been. Hosting, we want to get there and with 10 of us in the same conference, we’ve seen a bunch of them, and we know there are no room for nights off,” said Waack.

With the 6A-West expanding to 10 teams with the addition of Shiloh Christian, Waack was disappointed a rule at the Arkansas Activities Association’s governing body meeting earlier in the week, allowing the West to have seven teams from the West and five teams from the Central qualify for the state tournament, was shot down.

“I was an advocate for that,” said Waack. “I was hoping it would go percentage based because I felt was percentage based was more equitable. I hate the West conference is not getting equitable access.”

Waack has a team with plenty of talent and experience led by sophomore Paisley Hogan (298 kills, 50 blocks, o7 digs), junior right-side hitter/setter Jalliyah Freeman (272 kills, 63 blocks, 239 digs, 303 assists, 40 aces), senior libero Eden Fields (532 digs), junior right-side hitter Rylee Coley (206 kills, 76 digs) and senior setter Kamdyn Fleming (568 assists, 212 digs, 35 aces)

“We have a lot of returners. We graduated one starter. I’m really excited because we matured over the summer. I’m proud to see this group grow. We have a little more experience,” said Waack.

 Pottsville went 28-6 a year ago, 10-0 in conference and lost 3-0 to Baptist Prep in the second round of the Class 4A state tournament.

“When we found out we were playing Baptist Prep, we played them early on and lost in 5 sets, and going into state tournament, they had the first round game and got jitters out and we didn’t have those jitters out,” said Pottsville head coach Kacie Stabler. "They have a lot of experience going deep, that is something we talk about a lot. We got to take it one step at a time and not get ahead of ourselves.”

Stabler has to replace four starters: outside hitter Marlo Hollis, middle blocker Rylee Morris, setter Kylee Mathis and libero/defensive specialist Lily Holsted, bur brings back senior 6-rotation Ella Drown (225 kills, .325 hitting pct., 43 blocks).

Replacing those starters is going to take time, said Stabler.

"I feel they’re all stepping up in different ways, Gloria (Hill) and Sophie (Ussery) are scrappy as they can be. Laren (McNeely) and Ella can go six rotations came out of a camp at 501 and are killing it. They’re going to be awesome to watch.

“I think as far as payers, we have players who can step in those roles, those four will be missed because you only get one of those and they brought something to the table.”

 In her first year at Jonesboro Westside, had coach Codie Zeigler led the Warriors to the Class 4A state championship where it lost 3-2 to Pulaski Academy with the last two sets being decided 26-24 and 15-13.

Despite coming agonizingly close to winning a state championship, Zeigler remains focused on  not looking too far ahead.

“I try to be careful about thinking about that,” said Zeigler. “Every team is so different. If you jump out and say we have to make it back to the state finals, you lose focus. For every team that is the end goal, and is not what we talk about every day, it’s what are we doing in practice to make us better tomorrow. Are we doing more things to make us better?

Westside has four returning starters in senior right-side hitter Kirby Conrad (407 kills, 164 digs, 49 aces), junior outside hitter Kimber Wynn (322 digs, 189 kills, 50 aces), senior middle blocker Kaydence Garland (149 kills, 42 blocks) and junior middle blocker Emma Byrd (126 kills, 41 blocks).

 Mansfield, the defending Class 3A state champion, which has won five of the last six state titles in 2A and 3A, drops back to 2A and has a new coach in Brandi Heydenreich.

Heydenreich takes over for Kaylie Pyles, who is now the junior high coach at Grimsley Junior High in the Bentonville School District.

“Mansfield is known for its volleyball program,” said Heydenreich. “Our main goal is work hard and keep good attitude and end up in Hot Springs.

“We have the hunger and that is the goal to make it back. We never take it for granted. Two years ago, we made it quarterfinals. It was a tough loss.”

Mansfield brings back six players, who saw significant playing time last year, but must replace middle blocker Kaylee Ward, who is now playing basketball at Oral Roberts.

“She’s irreplaceable,” said Heydenreich. “We have Danielle Lowery (148 kills, 75 blocks), a blocking machine force to be reckon with. She’s going to help us and we have super talented and right side to go along with her.”

Junior outside hitter Miley Clopton (185 kills, 468 digs, 18 blocks, 18 aces) who tore an ACL in basketball season, said she’s close to ending the rehab process and getting back on the volleyball floor.

 Harmony Grove went 27-6 and 10-0 in the 3A-South, advancing to the semifinals where it lost 3-0 to Harding Academy.

This year, the Lady Cardinals move up to Class 4A and have a talented roster with five players back who started or saw significant playing time a year ago.

Leading the way for the Cardinals are senior setter Leelana Kennach (728 assists, 90 aces, 168 digs, 16 blocks), senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Preslie Walker (317 kills, .242 hitting pct., 226 digs, 25 blocks, 17 assists), senior middle blocker Jaycee Bossert (358 kills, .418 hitting pct., 43 aces, 64 blocks, 23 assists, 77 digs) and sophomore defensive specialist KK Brown (138 digs).

“Honestly, it’s not a big change for us,” said Harmony Grove head coach Bailey Korte. “We played a lot of these teams last year in regular season. Our conference is tougher, but we’ll handle transition well.”

A year ago, the Lady Cardinals faced Malvern, Arkadelphia Magnolia, who are in their conference. They also faced 4A runner up Jonesboro Westside and 5A member Lake Hamilton. This year, the Lady Cardinals have beefed up their schedule by playing in the Lakeside Tournament and facing  4A contenders in Westside, Bauxite, Brookland, Baptist Prep and Harding Academy.

Korte said she doesn’t mind taking losses in the regular season as long as it helps her team in the regional and state tournament.

 A year ago, Lincoln went 13-14 and was knocked out in the conference tournament by Providence Academy.

This year, Lincoln hopes to get to the regional and the state tournament despite losing six seniors.

The Lady Wolves have three returning staters led by senior outside hitter Lauren Remington (253 kills, 317 digs, 25 blocks and 33 assists), senior middle blocker Jacey Provence (42 blocks, 30 kills, 27 aces) and senior setter Paisley Huffaker (325 assists, 135 digs, 20 aces).

“We’re excited about this season,” said Lincoln head coach Brittany Engel. “We're young, but we have a lot of players stepping up. I’m excited about this team. This  summer has seen tremendous growth.”

Despite the personnel losses, Engel said this year’s team has a lot more unity.

"Last year was disappointing,” said Engel. “We had a lot of talent and should have went a lot farther than we did. Something different is our cohesiveness. Last year we had some separation in the team which kept us from going as far as we did. This year, we’re a unit very cohesive. We’ll see how far we get.”

 Paris, which won the 3A title in 2024, entered the 2024 season with two returning starters. 

The Lady Eagles took their lumps early, going 4-9. However, they closed the season with an 11-match winning streak, winning the their conference, district tournament and regional tournament before falling to Haskell Harmony Grove in the quarterfinals.

This year, Paris finds itself in a similar situation, having to replace five starters with its only retiring starter in junior outside hitter Chloe Moore.

“We’re trying to follow same formula. Last year, we had nine losses in first 13 games and five of them were from 4A and 5A schools and going through those battles helped us play better. They put it on us, making us stronger where we need to improve and get better.”

Paris will test itself again in the non-conference schedule playing in the Spikefest Tournament. They also have a tri-match with 5A schools Greenwood and Greenbrier on Sept. 19 which Fulmer said will help go a long way to determining how they finish. There are non-conference matches against Class 4A Mena and Episcopal Collegiate.

With a lot of new faces in the lineup, Fulmer is using the summer camps to see how things come together. 

“We went to UCA, Clarksville, Greenwood and Benton,” said Fulmer. “We played Little Rock Christian, Paragould, Van Buren, Mena, Lakeside and played a bunch of bigger schools just to show us our weakness. We didn’t do as well as we wanted to do. We got close and got a big win for us vs. Lakeside which gave me hope.”

 A year ago, despite going 6-17, the Walnut Ridge Bobcats made it to the 3A-East Regional Tournament where it lost 3-0 to Flippin.

Despite getting to the regional tournament, head coach Sarah Moore said last season did not meet its standards.

“We have to play consistently and can’t have peaks and valleys,” said Moore. “I’m not one to make predictions. My goal is to better every single game and not be 6-17.”

Moore said the team’s defense is “night and day” compared to last year. “Our sever-receive rating wants to be 2,” said Moore. “Last year, it was not close, our serve-receive has gotten better, our libero is a sophomore (Kaylee Deese) and is the best in the conference.”

Walnut Ridge has a young team with 9 sophomores, 2 juniors and 5 seniors. Last year, in addition to Deese, Moore said setter Andi Davis and outside hitter Cailyn Meyer were pulled up for postseason.

Moore said the big challenge this season is competing against conference contenders Crowley’s Ridge Academy and Harrisburg.

 A year ago, Clarksville went 19-11-2 and fell to Brookland in the first round in the Class 4A state tournament.

This year, with four seniors who’ve graduated, head coach Wesley Davis hopes his team can continue the standard from last year’s team.

“We’ve talked about not being anomaly, but a standard,” said Davis. “That group did a great job, getting to the dance for the first time in a long time. We won second set, didn’t go away in the third set and lost in fourth set. We have to take advantage to build off last year’s group. We have his year’s group and next year’s group and if you continue, then you have tradition.”

The Lady Panthers’ top returning players are junior setter Allie Willis (348 assists, 42 aces) and junior Cordella Denniston (147 kills, 14 blocks). Davis is looking at a group of incoming sophomores, who went 21-2 in junior high last year and won the conference title to provide reinforcement, especially sophomore libero Rae Campbell and sophomore outside hitter Braley Cogan.

“These are my girls this year,” said Davis. “They put in a long summer, and had a lot of team camps and we hosted one. We lost a big group of seniors and we’re trying to build tradition and program. A lot of it is chemistry. We have a lot of new faces which has given us something to work for.”

 Little Rock Central has been to the Class 6A state quarterfinals the past four years and had four seniors who signed college scholarships: outside hitter Jason Jersey (Henderson State), setter Sydney Crowder (Georgia State), right-side hitter Ava Fugitt (Washington and Lee) and defensive specialist Lyida Warrior (Arkansas Fort-Smith). 

The Lady Tigers are led by middle blocker Makylah Davis, who committed to Alabama. “They brought into me from the beginning, and have always watched me play which really influenced me,” said Davis.

Despite a lot of new faces, head coach Markie Alberius said her team will be tough to face. "We have a fun team this year,” said Alberius. “We  lost a lot of starters from last year. We’ve had a gym that is super competitive and a team is well balanced. They are very fun, easy going and we have a junior class which brings a lot of competitiveness and good balance.”

After going 20-8 a year ago, Alberius said expectations are not changing. “Preparation doesn’t change. Our expectations don’t change. We expect them to show up and give 100 percent. Most play year round. My main things is to let’s keep going, have the endurance for a long season, keep having fun and knowing what to do which comes with the ground work. Experience helps, but being young, some of them are eager to touch the court.”

 Baptist Prep has a new coach in Mollie Singleton, a 2019 graduate of Baptist Prep, who replaces Krista Spoon, who retired in the offseason.

Singleton, who attended Spurgeon College in Kansas, coached at The Covenant School in Jacksonville, Fla.

“It was such s gift to play for Coach Spoon. One of the kings I remember are the bad moments, because Coach Spoon believed in me a lot more than I believed in myself,” said Singleton. “I want to do the same for these players. These seniors already bought into the program, they re doing a great job.”

Singleton takes over a team that went 25-14 a year ago that lost to Pulaski Academy 3-2 in the 4A semifinals and has four players who starter or saw significant action a year ago. “One of biggest strengths is unity,” said Singleton. “I’ve never seen them get upset on the court.”

After winning Class 3A titles in 2022 and 2023, Baptist Prep has lost in the semifinals the past two years in 4A. Singleton said, “We have a lot of fine tuning to do. Their communication is awesome. We have some fine tuning as far as who we’re playing and relying on discipline instead on adrenaline.”

The Lady Eagles are led by senior middle blocker Catherine Chapman (242 kills, 337 digs and 33 blocks) and senior outside hitter Ellis Pierce (292 kills, 114 digs, 53 aces).

 In Jason Lambert’s second season at Pulaski Academy, the Lady Bruins won the Class 4A state championship.

This year, with four returning starters, including Class 4A state tournament MVP Sophie Greenwood, the Bruins move up to 5A because of the Arkansas Activities Association’s competitive equity rule.

The Bruins will be in the 5A-Central with Lambert’s former school and defending conference champion Mount St. Mary, 2021 5A state champion Little Rock Christian and 2024 state runner-up Greenbrier.

“We’re going to have a good season,” said Lamber.t. “We have a lot of repeat talent and a lot of good experience. The conference is going to be tough, but when we were in 4A, the conference was very tough. We’re coming in as a good position and not changing much. Overall 5A has some big teams have what it takes to go deep.”

Lambert said the big task is making sure his team stays focused at all times. Last year, he said after losing in the Conway tournament, the Lady Bruins won their last eight matches of the season to win the state title.

  Hot Springs Lakeside head coach Rhonda Thigpen remains peeved at one loss that disrupted her season. 

On Oct. 9, the Lady Rams defeated Benton 3-2 and appeared poised to earn a share of the 5A-South Conference title. However, a 3-2 loss to Lake Hamilton a week later kept the Lady Rams from clinching a share of the 5A-South Conference title and left them with a 16-9-2 overall record and a 12-2 mark in the conference.

When asked if the 5A-South is wide open because Benton head coach Michelle Shoppach retired in April, Thigpen said they Lady Rams have a chance, but said she doesn’t expect much to change from Benton with Brooke White being promoted to head coach. She also pointed to the fact that during the 2023 season, her team shared the conference title with Benton with a 3-2 victory over Lady Panthers

“It’s always open. We were one game from being co-champs up until the last week of the season,” said Thigpen. “I know they have a new coach, but they have the same players. She was the junior high coach and became their assistant coach. The dynamics and culture have rubbed over. I think Coach White is an outstanding coach.”

The Lady Rams are led by junior outside hitter London Jackson (276 kills, .253 hitting pct., 17 blocks, 197 digs, 41 aces) and was named to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s All-Arkansas Preps freshman-sophomore team for the second consecutive year.

“I think it’s self explanation when she made history and moved up as first freshman at Lakeside volleyball and backed it up her sophomore year,” said Thigpen. “Two years in a row, she made the all-Arkansas Preps team which is very prestigious on freshman-sophomore roster because there are only has six on the roster. 

“This summer she made an impact in helping her club team win a national tournament and was named MVP. She brings a dynamic and everyone in the state knows who she is. People walk up to me and say, “Is she the one?” What is impressive is she does not brag about it.”

Thigpen has two freshman in 6-0 Hendrix Yancey and 5-11Miracle Davis, giving them size on the front row. 

“They bring some height and some experience in the future,” said Thigpen. “Right now, it’s growth and learning, but they both have the potential to be impact players, but they both have the dynamics and growth.”

While the Lady Rams lose three starters from last year’s team in middle blocker Taylor Mace, who signed with McPherson College (Kan.); outside hitter Baryett Janes, who signed with Spring Hill College (Ala.) and Peter Laynee Throgmartin, Thigpen believes her team can should qualify for the state tournament and do well in the state tournament.