As the Woodford County High School volleyball team starts its season, team camaraderie and trust among the players will again be the focus.
The seniors have spent years learning the team’s culture, building chemistry, and growing as leaders. Now, they have one last chance to make their mark and pass down the sisterhood that has been passed down each season.
The Lady Jackets are starting the 2026 season with one of their biggest senior classes in recent years. Ten seniors are preparing for their final high school season. This group has grown up together, learned from older players, and now takes on the responsibility of upholding the standard Coach Meghan Bottom has set over 13 seasons. She has watched the competition inside her gym elevate everyone around it.
“It’s a big senior class,” said Bottom.
“Everybody’s fighting for playing time, so that makes practices competitive, but it’s competitive in a good way. They’re not negative. They go after each other like they’re supposed to with intensity. Then they back each other’s play when they need it.”
That balance has been one of the trademarks of Woodford County volleyball.
Practices are tough, and players fight for every point. When practice ends, teammates cheer for each other just as much as they compete.
Coach Bottom has spent over a decade building this culture, and she believes it gives this year’s team a real chance to succeed, even with the challenges a new season brings.
“It’s amazing because you don’t have to fight anything,” Bottom said. “They’re all in each other’s corner. They want everybody to succeed. There’s no pride, no ego. They just want everybody to do well.”
It took time to build that atmosphere.
Many of this year’s seniors have played together since middle school. Over the years, they’ve learned each other’s habits, celebrated wins, worked through tough losses, and grown closer both on and off the court.
Their chemistry comes from years of friendship – not just a few weeks of preseason practice.
“The bonds mean a lot to me,” senior Amelia Miller said.
“We’ve grown up playing volleyball together since we were in sixth grade, just creating such a good bond between all of us. We have such a strong family between us. Carrying that not only off the court but onto the court means so much to me because we get to work together with such a strong group of people.”
That sense of family runs through the whole program.
Bottom pairs upperclassmen with younger players through a big sister-little sister program while emphasizing a culture designed to make every player feel invested regardless of which team she plays on.
Varsity players cheer during freshman games, and freshmen support varsity. Even players on the bench stay involved, making sure every athlete feels like an important part of the team.
“It gives them a role model: This is what I need to aspire to be,” Bottom said. “You’ll see the older ones cheering during the freshman game and cheering during JV. It’s one big family, and that allows the younger ones to prosper. We always tell them we’re not afraid of mistakes. Mistakes are how you grow and how you learn.”
These lessons have shaped this year’s senior class.
Several players remember coming in as freshmen and watching older teammates show what leadership meant. Now, four years later, they know it’s their turn to lead.
“I think just being able to be a leader on the court makes a huge difference,” Miller said.
“There’s six of us on the court at once, and you have to be able to be a leader and be a voice. It takes everyone to work together, and when you’re not on the court you have to be vocal as well.”
Senior Kenley Greer remembers looking up to past Woodford County seniors. Now she’s become a player younger teammates will be watching.
“I looked up to the seniors a lot,” Greer said. “Now I hope the younger ones can look up to me.”
Greer said one of the biggest lessons she’s learned from Bottom and the coaching staff has been confidence.
“They’ve taught me just to be positive and know that I can do it,” Greer said. “Be confident.”
Senior setter Caroline Gribble believes the team is still building its confidence this year.
“The presence of the seniors last year was very important on our team,” Gribble said. “We’re trying to find that confidence in ourselves and kind of find our own name this year. Our energy’s been really good. We’re all very close.”
Gribble understands that leadership isn’t measured only by statistics or highlight plays.
“When you make a bad play, how you react, you’re the role models,” she said. “The seniors last year installed a lot of confidence in me. They were always telling me, ‘You’re a good setter. You’re a good player.’”
Now she hopes to pass those same lessons on to the next generation.
Gribble also enters the season as one of the Yellow Jackets’ most important returning players. She led all returning players with 466 assists last season while averaging 4.57 assists per set. She also contributed 198 digs and 36 service aces, making her one of Woodford County’s most versatile players and the centerpiece of the offense entering her senior season.
Around her, the Yellow Jackets return several experienced contributors.
Sophomore Scarlet Dabney enjoyed an outstanding freshman season, leading all returning attackers with 159 kills while adding 54 digs and 25 blocks. Her ability to score at the net should make her one of the team’s primary offensive weapons this fall.
Junior Lucy Culbertson also emerged as a major threat at the net. Culbertson finished last season with 130 kills while averaging 1.73 kills per set, the highest average among returning players. She added 59 assists and 25 blocks, giving Bottom another versatile option capable of contributing in multiple areas.
Greer returns at the net after leading all returning players with 90 blocks and adding 61 kills, bringing experience and leadership to the front row.
The Yellow Jackets also return an experienced back row.
Senior Addison Bryant led all returning players with 264 digs, while adding 44 assists and 36 service aces. Miller finished close behind with 202 digs and a team-leading 37 service aces among returning players, giving Woodford County two veteran defenders capable of stabilizing the floor.
Bryant believes one of the biggest strengths of this year’s team is the trust players have developed over years of playing together.
“Kamaya (Mahorn) was such a big help last year,” Bryant said. “We relied on Kamaya a lot, and now we’re relying on each other more. I’ve learned to trust everyone else, cover more of the court and just keep communicating with everyone.”
She believes communication will determine how far the Yellow Jackets can go this season.
“You can get in your head really fast,” Bryant said. “It’s important to pick each other up and keep communicating.”
Communication is one of several areas Bottom wants to emphasize throughout the season.
Woodford County has rarely lacked effort under Bottom. Diving for loose balls, extending rallies and sacrificing the body have become expectations inside the program. This year, she wants to pair that effort with improved consistency and smarter decision-making.
“We need consistency,” Bottom said.
“We’re going to need to improve our passing accuracy a lot, and then we’re going to have to be a lot smarter in how we do things instead of just swinging away. We’re going to have to really be tactical this year, but still aggressive.”
Her players understand that message.
“I think communication plays a big key,” Miller said. “Being able to adapt and adjust to different things. Just learning what’s open and learning what to expect this year.”
Bryant has noticed the same thing.
“I like that we’ve been together for so long. So there is a lot of trust,” she said.
“We know how to communicate with each other. We make adjustments really fast, and I think the more we keep relying on each other and making those adjustments, we’re going to be good.”
Depth should also be one of Woodford County’s strengths.
Seniors Lydia Sumner, Lexi Zuber, Layla Aubrey, Olivia Bradley, Lorelai Johns and Mary Groves all return after gaining valuable varsity experience, giving Bottom multiple experienced options as the season unfolds.
That sense of continuity is also seen in the coaching staff.
Bottom enters her 13th season leading the program, while longtime assistant Chris Thomas has been by her side throughout the entire journey. Together they’ve built a program that emphasizes relationships every bit as much as volleyball. Ashley Lucas and Evelyn Walton are also on the coaching staff and provide support at all three levels of the volleyball program.
“My assistants are amazing,” Bottom said. “Chris has been with me all 13 years, and we really do a good job balancing each other. I’ve learned to coach everybody differently. I don’t coach everybody the same way.”
Bottom says she’s changed a lot over those 13 seasons.
“I was a lot more explosive when I was younger,” she said with a laugh. “Now I’m more laid back and talk through things. This year I’m focusing on the mental aspect of the game and where their head needs to be to get over stuff.”
She hopes this senior class will embrace that mental growth as part of their identity.
For Gribble, the team already has a clear goal for the season.
“I think most of us want to win districts,” she said. “Last year we had a bad taste in our mouth after losing to Collins. Nobody wants to lose to Collins in any sport. I think we’re all working toward beating Collins and making a run in regions.”
The Yellow Jackets know that expectations are still high, even with a new season starting. There were glimpses of greatness at the Bluegrass State Games this past weekend as the Lady Jackets showed their ability to give up their bodies for the ball. The passing looked strong and the hitters packed a punch.
With two weeks until the first whistle of the new season begins, Coach Bottom and her team are primed to make a run at a district title. The opener is Aug. 18 against Scott County in the Hive.