PREP VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW

PREP VOLLEYBALL: Fayetteville ready to run it back in defense of 6A state championship

Kennedy Phelan (4) of Fayetteville cheers after an ace in a match last season against Bentonville. Phelan, the NWA Democrat-Gazette Player of the Year last season, returns to help lead the Lady Bulldogs to a repeat as Class 6A state champions.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo)
Kennedy Phelan (4) of Fayetteville cheers after an ace in a match last season against Bentonville. Phelan, the NWA Democrat-Gazette Player of the Year last season, returns to help lead the Lady Bulldogs to a repeat as Class 6A state champions. (NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo)

Volleyball practices are in full swing, and area teams are digging deep toward meeting big 2022 goals.

For Springdale Har-Ber Coach Cassie Loyd and her Lady Wildcats, it will require putting last season's Class 6A state championship loss to Fayetteville in the rearview mirror. After completing a regular season sweep over the local rival, Har-Ber was stunned 3-0 in the state title match by the Lady Purple'Dogs.

"We had 14 seniors and just one junior," Loyd said. "So it's an interesting dynamic for us this season. With having so many gone from last year and only one returning varsity player, our team is very, very new. But these girls watched it and experienced it even though they weren't wearing a jersey. Only Galatia Andrew, our one returner, was first-hand on that team, but these girls all still feel like they have something to prove."

Loyd said she hopes her team plays with a chip on its shoulder.

"A lot of teams are underestimating us because we graduated that great senior class," she said. "Chances are some people will think Har-Ber is not a team to worry about this year. I think that has inspired our girls to work hard to try and go make a name for themselves. It's their turns to take the reins, go out there, and prove some people wrong."

For the Lady Wildcats, like the rest of the 6A-West field, a conference title will require overcoming the defending state champion Purple'Dogs, which enter the season as heavy favorites to repeat.

Fayetteville returns five players signed to play for Division 1 collegiate volleyball programs, including three seniors who were All-State in 2021: Kennedy Phelan, Brooke Rockwell and Madeline La Fata. Phelan, the Bulldogs' setter and reigning Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year and Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Year, is committed to play collegiately at Florida State. Rockwell is committed to play beach volleyball at Stanford. La Fata will play for Dartmouth, an Ivy League program.

Fayetteville Coach Jessica Phelan is proud of her players earning offers, and credits it to their hard work.

"It's cool to see them preparing to take that next step," she said. "We know our league is always difficult, and we have a big target on our backs heading into this fall season. I think we have a group of kids that just love volleyball. They have a grit about them and just want to continually get better."

Phelan said her team knows what it takes to win another title.

"For our group, I think they understand having been there, you don't win a state championship in August, September and October," she said. "You win it a little bit every day along the way. For us it's just trusting the process, enjoying the process and committing to it. Being prepared is how you have confidence when those big moments do come."

Both Fayetteville and Har-Ber will be tested with early matchups against the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs, which lost a 3-2 match in the second round of the Class 5A state tournament to Marion a season ago. Greenwood Coach Jennifer Golden said her team is ready to rewrite the narrative in 2022.

"We have three girls coming back who played and started on that team that are gung-ho," Golden said. "They got that taste still in their mouths and are just chomping at the bit."

One of the Lady Bulldogs' key returning pieces is junior Myia McCoy, who has started for Greenwood since her freshman year. She was named to the 5A All-State team last year.

"She's just a dynamic athlete," Golden said of McCoy. "She jumps out of the gym and has a fast arm swing. This past season in club she went up to Ozark and played club for them. They actually won a national championship, and she was integral in that. She's such a fun player to have watched at an early age, seeing where she's at now. I think she'll ease into that leadership ability even more this year being an upperclassman."

Golden said her team has been fun to coach thus far.

"We have such great chemistry this year," she said. "We get along and we're a family. When that happens, that's half of the battle. It's great that what we have to do now is just worry about volleyball. When we come in the gym, we work on the skills we need to work on, and we strive to keep building on things. That's a really fun place to be in as a coach."

For schools such as Har-Ber, Fayetteville and Greenwood, a winning tradition comes with added stakes.

"We know there is a target on our backs because we have a winning program," Golden said. "We just try to make sure that we are doing our job so that we can continue that legacy."

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