Recapping the 2025 High School Volleyball Season In Hopkins County
The 2025-2026 school year is flying by, with the fall sports season already coming to an end. This fall was one that saw a ton of success in Hopkins County, with the Como-Pickton, Cumby, Miller Grove, North Hopkins, Sulphur Bluff and Sulphur Springs volleyball teams each making the playoffs.
Together, the six teams went a combined 141-82, including a combined postseason record of 9-6. Not only did all six of the Hopkins County volleyball teams make the playoffs, but five of them were able to make it to at least the second round, with North Hopkins and Sulphur Bluff each advancing all the way to the Regional Final.
We want to take a minute to appreciate and highlight each of these teams, the successful seasons they had and recognize all of the players and coaches who were rewarded for their impressive seasons with All-District honors.
Como-Pickton Lady Eagles
The Como-Pickton Lady Eagles had yet another strong season, going 28-13 and making it to the second round of the playoffs. Their 28 wins ties their most in a single season and also marks the fourth season in a row of winning 25 or more games. The Lady Eagles have had impressive season after impressive season under head coach Celeste Garcia, who reached the milestone of her 100th career victory earlier this year.
For their strong showing, the Lady Eagles were well represented in the All-District awards, including three players who took home superlative awards. Senior Saylor Smith was named the Defensive Player of the Year, after having a great four-year career on varsity.
The Lady Eagles also had a pair of juniors, who took home superlative awards, with Mhia Garcia being named Co-Setter of the year and Journey Brumley being named Co-Libero of the Year. The pair of junior’s will look to play even bigger roles next season as senior’s, and helping lead the Lady Eagles with their veteran leadership.
Como-Pickton also had a pair of players, junior Kati Calvillo and freshman Ayla Oud, who were named First Team All-District. Senior Maud Poortvliet, junior Aubrey Martinez and freshman Presley Hunt were each named Second Team All-District, while junior Lexie Rainey and sophomore Jaylin Gillis were both named Honorable Mention All-District.
The future looks incredibly bright for the Lady Eagles, who will only be losing two senior’s from their 28-win team. Next fall, they are set to have eight players who earned All-District honor’s returning, with an extra year of strong play and postseason experience under their belts.
The last four season’s have been some of the best in school history, completely turning around a program that was in desperate need of a turnaround. In the four years before, the Lady Eagles had a combined record of 19-78, with zero playoff appearances. In the four years since, the Lady Eagles have a combined record of 108-54, winning 25 or more games each season.
The 2020’s have seen some of the best season’s in program history for the Lady Eagles, and with the future looking as bright as it does, the back half of the decade could be even more successful.
Cumby Lady Trojans
For all of their success, the Lady Trojans were well represented in the All-District awards, including coach Savannah Kurn, who was named Coach of the Year. Cumby also had a trio of seniors who took home superlative awards, with Sandra McCraw and Kinslee Dowdle taking home Offensive MVP and Defensive MVP, respectively. Fellow senior Bella Faulknor was also named the Setter of the Year.
Senior Brynn Emeyabbi and junior Evan Puckett were each named First Team All-District, while seniors Chloe Groves and Ella Horne were Second Team All-District. Senior Gabby Osornio and sophomore Gabby Arriaga were also named Honorable Mention All-District, seeing that nine Lady Trojans were represented in the All-District Awards.
From the start of September, the Lady Trojans were unstoppable, going on an impressive run which opened with a 3-1 win over 5A Mt. Pleasant. Cumby went on to win six consecutive games before finally taking their first loss.
That loss would be the last of the regular season, however, as they immediately bounced back with another six-game winning streak to finish out the season, losing just one game between Sept. 2 and Nov. 4.
The Lady Trojans took their six-game winning streak into postseason action, where they faced Fruitvale in the Bi-District round, and they would go on to beat them in straight sets. Finally, in the Area Round, their winning streak and season would come to an end, when they went up against No. 9 ranked Lindsay.
Miller Grove Lady Hornets
Much like the rest of the school’s in Hopkins County, the Miller Grove Lady Hornets are another team who are used to making the postseason year-after-year. This fall was no different, with the Lady Hornets finishing third place in district and making it to the playoffs, to keep their impressive streak going.
While their season came to an end in the first round, after getting matched up with No. 17 ranked Ector, the future is very bright for the Lady Hornets, who only graduate two seniors from this years team. This was one of the youngest teams in the area, with only a pair of seniors and a pair of juniors. The Lady Cats roster was filled with mostly underclassmen, rostering five sophomores and five freshmen.
Ella Ramsey was the lone Lady Hornet to take home a superlative award, as she was named the Newcomer of the Year as just a freshman. She will be joined next season by junior Rylie Stracener and sophomores Kindle Fisher and Berklee Christian, who were each named Second Team All-District.
Junior Avery Lewis and freshman Addison May will each be returning after being named Honorable Mention All-District, as senior Audrey Yates was the lone senior to be named Honorable Mention. The Lady Hornets will return as many players as anybody in the area, in each of the next few season’s, and with a very young roster who will already have postseason experience under their belts.
North Hopkins Lady Panthers
They followed that up in 2024 with an even more impressive season, improving their win total to 35, giving themselves a very high bar to try to reach this fall. Despite the extremely high expectations, Coach Danna Lewis and her Lady Panthers were once again able to find room for improvement, having their best season yet.
North Hopkins opened their season with a tough schedule, filled with games against bigger schools, trying to prepare themselves for a deep playoff run. The Lady Panthers went 6-4 in their first 10 games, before going on an incredible run, where they won 23 consecutive games.
In that span they were, somehow, even more dominant than it sounds, winning 21 of those 23 games in straight sets, and only dropping two sets the entire time. It wasn’t until they played Sulphur Springs, when their winning streak finally came to an end.
The loss didn’t slow them down, however, as they would only lose one more game in the regular season and would go 13-1 over their next 14 games, making it all the way to the Regional Final where they faced Crawford.
The Lady Panthers found themselves with their back’s against the wall in the Regional Final, dropping the first two sets, each by a score of 25-19. Not ready for their incredible run to come to an end, North Hopkins answered back with an incredible run, blowing Crawford out in the third set 25-10, and even taking the fourth set, 25-22, to take it to a fifth and final set.
It came down to the wire, but unfortunately Crawford was able to hold on, winning the final set 15-13 to finally bring North Hopkins’ historic season to an end, finishing as Regional Finalists with a record of 42-7.
For their historic season, the Lady Panthers were well represented in the All-District awards, starting with Coach Danna Lewis, who was named Coach of the Year.
Headlining the All-District Awards were the dynamic duo of juniors, Macey Hoelscher and Eden Lewis, who were each named District Co-MVP. Hoelscher led their explosive offense with 580 kills, while also having 72 aces, 13 blocks and an impressive 252 digs.
Lewis played a huge role as well, not only having 150 kills, 107 aces, 18 blocks and 340 digs, but leading the team with 738 assists, finding ways to get all of her teammates involved, while also racking up plenty of kills of her own.
Fellow junior Jacie Boles was just as explosive, finishing the season with 412 kills, 65 digs, 60 blocks, 24 aces and five assists, winning her the Offensive Player of the Year award. The Lady Panthers will have the luxury of following their 42-win, Regional Finalist season, by returning their tremendous trio of Co-MVP’s and Offensive Player of the Year.
Senior Tatum Thompson also took home a superlative award, as she was named Co-Libero of the Year. Thompson played her libero role very well, finishing her senior season with 420 digs, 58 assists and 40 aces.
The All-District Awards were far from over there, however, as senior Cadence Money, junior Kaidence Godbolt and sophomore Vada Kendall were each named First Team All-District.
Money finished her career with an impressive senior season, especially at the net, where she had 245 kills and 78 blocks. Money also had 71 digs, 31 aces and 25 assists. While the Lady Panthers have the luxury of returning most of their talent, the seniors they will lose, like Thompson and Money, will leave big shoes for them to fill.
Godbolt and Kendall, who will each be returning next season, were fantastic from the back row, putting up impressive numbers of their own. Godbolt had 295 digs, 41 aces, 14 kills and 13 assists in her junior season, while Kendall had 356 assists, 164 digs, 35 aces, 15 blocks and 12 kills as just a sophomore.
The Lady Panthers also had a pair of players, senior Fern Hernandez and junior Leah Hatley who were named Second Team All-District, along with a pair of players, senior McKenzie Phillips and sophomore Ailee McArthur who were each named Honorable Mention.
Hernandez and Phillips each had strong senior seasons, especially defensively, where they combined for 114 digs. Hernandez also had 14 kills and 11 blocks, while Phillips had 20 aces and 15 assists.
Hatley and McArthur, who are each returning and will be looking to fill even bigger roles next season were great in their roles this season, with Hatley finishing the season with 40 assists, 35 digs, 10 aces and five kills. McArthurt, who was just a sophomore, ended the year with 30 digs, 20 kills and eight blocks.
The last three season’s have been as good in North Hopkins as they have just about anywhere in the state, winning 109 games, with just 25 losses, and yet, their best days may still be ahead of them.
The Lady Panthers have the luxury of returning seven players from their 42-win team, including the two District Co-MVP’s and the Offensive Player of the Year, as well as two First Team All-District players, one Second Team All-District and one Honorable Mention player.
Sulphur Bluff Lady Bears
The first half of the 2020’s have been an incredible start to the decade for the Sulphur Bluff Lady Bears, who have grown accustomed to making deep playoff runs. They opened the decade in 2020 with a second round loss to Miller Gove, but immediately followed up with an incredible 2021 season.
The 2021 season kicked off their string of deep playoff runs, as they went 26-10 and won in each of the first two rounds, setting themselves up for a rematch with Miller Grove. This time, the Lady Bears came out on top 3-1, advancing to the State Tournament where they would fall to State Champion Fayetteville.
2022 and 2023 saw almost identical season’s, in which the Lady Bears made the playoffs and beat Ector in straight sets each time. Unfortunately, however, in both 2022 and 2023 Sulphur Bluff ran into Saint Jo in the second round each time, and each time they lost 3-2.
After back-to-back second round exits, the Lady Bears were hungry for another deep playoff run, and 2024 was their season to do so. Sulphur Bluff got matched up with Trinidad in the opening round and won in straight sets, advancing to the second round where they would meet Miller Grove.
It took five sets, but the Lady Bears got it done, getting the win and moving on. The Lady Bears also went on to beat Avalon in straight sets, advancing again and making their second appearance in the Regional Final this decade.
It was in the Regional Final where their season finally came to an end, losing to Neches, who would go on to lose in the State Final.
After making their second trip to the Regional Final in just four season’s, the expectations were high for Coach Zandra Peyton and her Lady Bears, and they lived up to them, winning district once again and ready to make another deep playoff run.
That’s exactly what they did, taking out Trinidad, Ector and Abbott in the first three rounds, only losing one set along the way to advance to the Regional Final for the third time in five seasons. Unfortunately, once they got there, they ran into Blum, who would end Sulphur Bluff’s season in route to a State Championship.
The now three-time Regional Finalist Lady Bears were well represented in the All-District Awards, once again, starting with Coach Zandra Peyton who was again named the Coach of the Year.
Sulphur Bluff dominated in the superlative awards, seeing four different seniors take home awards. Zaylee Peyton and Madi Collet were each named District Co-MVP, while Emerson Fite was named Offensive MVP and Ana Servin was named Libero of the Year.
Seniors Emma Carr and Kinder Stanley each made First Team All-District, along with junior Natalie Carrell. Junior Holly Bassham was named Second Team All-District, while sophomores Macy Stanley and CoDa Cockrell were each named Honorable Mention.
We’ve reached the midway point of the 2020’s and few teams in the entire state have seen as much playoff success as Sulphur Bluff, who’s made it all the way to the Regional Finals three different times. While they graduate six players from this team, Coach of the Year Zandra Peyton will have six players who return, and will look to keep making deep playoff runs tradition in Sulphur Bluff in the back half of the 2020’s.
Sulphur Springs Lady Cats
The 2020’s have seen a strong start to the decade for Coach Bailey Dorner and the Sulphur Springs Lady Cats, a team who has made the playoffs in each season so far. From 2020-2024 the Lady Cats had a combined record of 102-78, including a 27-15 season in 2024 where they reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time in that span.
Seeing improvements in each of the last three season’s, Coach Dorner and her Lady Cats felt like this season would be their best yet, and that’s exactly what it was. The Lady Cats went on to win 31 games, including an impressive 20-2 record at home, which would tie a school record for most wins in a single season.
Perhaps even more impressive than her ridiculous stats were Johnson’s poise and leaderships abilities. While the Lady Cats are only losing two seniors this season, each of them will leave big shoes to fill. Johnson wasn’t the only Lady Cat to take home a superlative award, however, as a pair of underclassmen, sophomore Peyton Taylor and freshman Maggie Thompson were awarded with the District MVP Libero and Newcomer of the Year, respectively.
Taylor saw a much bigger role this season, as a sophomore, and made the most of it, being named District MVP Libero. Taylor was second on the team in digs with 314, and was the second-leading server for the Lady Cats, finishing the year with 268 serve points. Still with two more seasons ahead of her, Taylor should only continue to improve with experience and responsibilities.
Freshman Maggie Thompson had an incredible debut season, racking up 166 kills and even leading the 31-win Lady Cats in blocks on the season with 70. Thompson’s contributions at the net were impressive for a player of any experience, but for a freshman, Thompson certainly set the tone on what should be a great career as a Lady Cat.
The accolades didn’t end there, however, as the Lady Cats also had three different players named First Team All-District, including senior Madison Jeter, sophomore Preslee Hardy and junior Harper Hodges.
Jeter was one of only two seniors this season for the Lady Cats, and much like Johnson played a huge role with her veteran leadership and strong defensive play. Jeter had a fantastic season defensively, finishing the year with 171 digs, not only contributing in the stat sheet, but making a big impact with her infectious level of energy and effort.
It was an incredible sophomore campaign for Preslee Hardy, getting to already play a huge role for the Lady Cats at the net. Hardy was second on the team in kills with 293 and third on the team in blocks with 51, making huge contributions for the Lady Cats all season long. With senior Rainey Johnson graduating, Hardy should get even more opportunities in her junior and senior seasons and will only continue to improve her game.
Junior Harper Hodges was also named First Team All-District and had her best season on varsity yet. Hodges did an excellent job setting up her teammates, racking up an impressive 914 assists throughout the course of the season. Hodges also had the second-most aces on the team, playing a huge role within the Lady Cats offense. Hodges will look to return next season as a senior and as one of the team’s most veteran leaders. The Lady Cats also had a trio of underclassmen who were named Second Team All-District, including sophomore’s Alani Pruitt and Sophie Schaack, as well as freshman Kylee Harrison. Both Pruitt and Shaack had fantastic sophomore season’s and each played huge roles at the net for the Lady Cats. Pruitt was able to rack up 124 kills and finished second on the team in blocks, while Schaack was just shy of 200 kills, and was fourth on the team in blocks. The duo made huge contributions as sophomore’s and should get bigger and bigger roles in each of the next two seasons.
Freshman Kylee Harrison also had a great debut to her varsity career, finding a nice role for herself as just a freshman. Harrison was especially good defensively, finishing the season with 163 digs, which was the second-most among all underclassmen for the Lady Cats this season. Especially as a freshman, Harrison not only had a great year, but was given the chance to get great experience on a 31-win Lady Cats team, and will see her role grow over each of the next three season’s.
The Lady Cats also had another pair of players, junior Claire Thompson and sophomore Presley Smith, who were named Honorable Mention All-District, bringing the total of Lady Cats who received All-District honors to 12, with 10 of them returning next season.
Coach Bailey Dorner and her Lady Cats have not only had a lot of success in each of the last few seasons, but have also seen improvements each year. After tying a school record with 31 wins and making it to the Area Round of the playoffs, they should be set to have their best season yet next season, with 10 players who received All-District honors coming back, and all returning with more playoff experience under their belts.
