All-NWA Democrat-Gazette

All-NWA Democrat-Gazette Volleyball Team

Fayetteville's Jessica Phelan and Kennedy Phelan (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Fayetteville's Jessica Phelan and Kennedy Phelan (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)

Coach of the Year

Jessica Phelan, Fayetteville

NOTABLE Guided the Lady Purple Bulldogs to their sixth state title since 2012. ... Led her team to its second straight 6A title, defeating 6A-West Conference champion Springdale Har-Ber in the finals and avenging a pair of regular-season losses. ... Led Fayetteville to 10 finals in 18 seasons at the helm. ... Played volleyball at the University of Arkansas, where she earned All-Southeastern Conference honors and was named the school's first All American, earning second team honors in 1997.

Player of the Year

Kennedy Phelan, Fayetteville;Setter;5-8;Jr.

NOTABLE Named All Arkansas Preps Player of the Year and state tournament MVP while earning all-state honors for the third consecutive season. ... Led Fayetteville to its second straight 6A state title. ... Racked up 1,123 assists (10.2 per set) at the controls of one of the top offenses in the state and had a serve was that was a big-time weapon, finishing with 112 aces. ... Totaled 274 digs, 31 blocks and 88 kills for the Class 6A state champions. ... Verbally committed to play at Florida State, which is coached by Heber Springs native Chris Poole, who also coached her mother, Jessica, at Arkansas.

Newcomers of the Year

Laila Creighton, Shiloh Christian;Setter;5-7;Fr.

NOTABLE Earned all-state honors and was among the state leaders in assists, totalling 1,069 for the season (10.1 per set). ... Added a team-high 76 service aces, 75 kills and 210 digs to help the Lady Saints to both 4A-Northwest conference and tournament titles before falling in the state tournament semifinals.

Bella Bonanno, Shiloh Christian;Libero;5-4;Fr.

NOTABLE Earned all-state honors and was the leader of the Lady Saints defense. ... Racked up a team-high 433 digs (4.1 per set) to go with 58 service aces and 505 serve receptions with just 35 errors to help the Lady Saints to both 4A-Northwest conference and tournament titles before falling in the state tournament semifinals.

First Team

Caylan Koons, Springdale Har-Ber;Setter;5-9;Sr.

NOTABLE Quarterbacked one of top attacks in the state, earning all-state honors and helping the Lady Wildcats to a 6A-West Conference title and a Class 6A state runner-up finish. ... Signed to play volleyball at Central Arkansas. ... Finished with 1,038 assists (10.8 per set) to go with 213 digs, 44 blocks and 72 kills this season. ... Earned all-state honors three times for basketball with a senior season left as well.

Kat Cooper, Springdale Har-Ber;Middle Hitter;6-1;Sr.

NOTABLE Was a force at the net to help the Lady Wildcats claim the 6A-West Conference title and advance to the 6A state finals. ... Hit an incredible .403 with 293 kills (3.1 per set), 61 blocks and 38 service aces. ... Signed to play at San Diego State and earned All-Arkansas Preps first-team honors.

Brooke Rockwell, Fayetteville;Outside Hitter;5-10;Jr.

NOTABLE Was a tremendous all-around player for the Lady Purple Bulldogs, earning all-state honors. ... Finished with 503 kills (4.6 per set) and hit .233, but also added 275 digs (2.5 per set) and 386 serve receptions with just 22 errors. ... Chipped in with 35 service aces and 36 blocks and was named to the All Arkansas Preps first team.

Maddie LaFata, Fayetteville;Right-side Hitter;5-11;Jr.

NOTABLE Played a big role for the Lady Purple Bulldogs this season, after coming through in a big moment to help her team win the state title a year ago. ... Was thrust into the state finals as a sophomore, who hadn't played much, after an injury and came up with six kills in the final set. ... Put up great numbers this season to the tune of 326 kills (3.0 per set) and hit .292 off the right side to go with 47 aces and 43 blocks to earn all-state honors.

Trinity Hamilton, Bentonville; Outside Hitter;5-6;Sr.

NOTABLE Became for Lady Tiger to be a three-time all-state selection and was a force both offensively and defensively. ... Signed to play at Central Arkansas. .. Hit .324 with 392 kills (4.2 per set) and added 376 digs (4.0 per set) and 377 serve receptions with just 23 errors. ... Finished her career with 1,202 kills, 1,392 digs and 119 service aces and was named to the All-Arkansas Preps first team.

Toree Tiffee, Fort Smith Southside;Outside Hitter;5-11;Sr.

NOTABLE Helped lead the Mavericks to the Class 6A state semifinals and earned all-state honors. ... Signed to play at Cal Baptist. ... Finished with 247 kills (3.0 per set) and hit .208 and added 235 digs (2.9 per set) and 302 serve receptions with 36 errors.

Josie McCroskey, Springdale Har-Ber;Libero;5-5;Sr.

NOTABLE Was a force defensively and helped make the Lady Wildcats' offense run with her work in serve receive as she earned all-state honors. ... Led the team with 418 digs (4.4 per set) and 349 serve receptions with only 13 errors and also led the team with 51 service aces.

Second Team

Kyla Clubb, Springdale Har-Ber;Outside Hitter;5-11;Sr.

NOTABLE Was a force offensively for the Lady Wildcats, racking up a team-high 355 kills (3.7 per set) and hit .245. as well as chipping in 38 blocks. ... Signed to play at Dalhousie University in Canada.

Myia McCoy, Greenwood;Outside Hitter;5-10;Soph.

NOTABLE Earned all-state honors as a dynamic force for the Lady Bulldogs. ... Finished with 331 kills (3.1 per set) to go with 288 digs (2.7 per set), 38 blocks and 354 serve receptions with 46 errors.

Regan Harp, Fayetteville;Middle Hitter;6-1;So.

NOTABLE Earned all-conference honors as her role in the offense expanded this season, hitting .304 with 269 kills (2.4 per set) to go with 41 blocks and 103 digs for the Class 6A state champions.

Brianna Ball, Van Buren;Setter/Outside Hitter;6-0;Jr.

NOTABLE Earned all-state honors as an outstanding two-way player for the Lady Pointers. ... Racked up 364 kills (4.5 per set) and 290 digs (3.6 per set) and 295 assists as a setter (3.6 per set) to go with 36 aces.

Abby Harris, Rogers;Setter/Opposite;6-2;Sr.

NOTABLE Named all-conference for the third time and keyed the Lady Mounties' attack as both a setter and hitter. ... Signed to play volleyball at Arkansas State. ... Registered career-highs with 202 kills and 58 blocks this season and also contributed 256 assists and 136 digs.

Madeline Freeman, Hackett;Setter/Outside Hitter;5-10;Sr.

NOTABLE Led the Lady Hornets to the state finals for the third straight year, falling just short of three state titles, but was a three-time all-state selection. ... Registered career-highs with 203 kills, 250 digs and 370 assists and also contributed 96 service aces.

Hannah Smith, Fort Smith Northside;Libero;5-7;Sr.

NOTABLE Claimed all-state honors and anchored the defense for the Lady Bears, who advanced to the Class 6A state quarterfinals before falling to state runner-up Springdale Har-Ber. ... Finished with an incredible 865 digs (7.9 per set) to go with 766 serve receptions and was also a force from the service line with 99 aces.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Kennedy Phelan

SCHOOL Fayetteville

CLASS Junior

HEIGHT 5-8

POSITION Setter

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID "Freshman year, it's really intimidating coming in with all the upperclassmen but we had such great leaders. It's been easy to be comfortable though and fulfill that role from that perspective. Being an upperclassman this year, I had to be a little bit more assertive. I think that's just part of growing as a volleyball player and as a leader. I just tried to show up every day, work hard and lead by example in whatever way I could. We're pretty comfortable with each other.

"We were definitely really physical last year and if we were in system we were rolling. This year we had to rely a little more on spreading the ball around. If we won that serve and pass game, we were golden. When we were out of system, it was still manageable, but it was harder because we weren't quite as big. Just had to work a little bit harder in transition to spread the ball around to get those seams when you can. We passed so much better in that state finals game and that whole state tournament. That whole week, we honed in on serve and pass, because if we win that game, we have a good shot."

-- Paul Boyd

NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR

Laila Creighton

SCHOOL Shiloh Christian

CLASS Freshman

HEIGHT 5-9

POSITION Setter

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID "I can say we (Bella and I) were both really nervous to go up but our teammates were so welcoming to us and I'm so thankful I had Bella. In the beginning, it was very nerve-wracking and we didn't have trust of the team but later on the in the season all my hitters were trusting me and ok with what I wanted to run and if anything, they were giving me new ideas whenever they saw things that I didn't see. This team, Shiloh, was really selfless and we all wanted what was best for one another and that was really cool to watch and be a part of."

-- Paul Boyd

Bella Bonanno

SCHOOL Shiloh Christian"

CLASS Freshman

HEIGHT 5-4

POSITION Libero

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID "I knew I had a big task ahead being a freshman, moving up and being a libero is a big role on the team. There's a lot of pressure but I was really excited. I felt I was able to adjust fairly quickly to the team and how they played. There's a few other girls on the team who came up as freshman and they helped as well just knowing what we were going through."

-- Paul Boyd

COACH OF THE YEAR

Jessica Phelan

SCHOOL Fayetteville

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID "Last year, Covid brought like an extra opponent to your season for sure. You look back on that whole year, volleyball felt like the most normal part of their day probably. All great seasons begin with the hope that something good's gonna happen at the end. We had a lot of kids that had played in that state championship game and they knew what that felt like and I feel like that kinda drove them even through the losses we had. That is where they knew they wanted to end their season. They wanted to get back there. This is a group that had really great chemistry all year long. They had this collective energy and they really wanted to fight for each other that week of the state tournament."

-- Paul Boyd

  photo  Laila Creighton (left) and Bella Bonanno, both freshmen from Shiloh Christian, have been named the All Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette Volleyball Newcomers of the Year. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
 
 

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