The Weatherford College Coyote volleyball team has not known any spot but first in the standings of the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference. As they enter their third season of competition, they are the two-time defending conference champions.
Last season they made a national impression by advancing to the NJCAA Championships and finishing No. 8 nationally with a 33-6 record.
The Coyotes were a perfect 17-0 at home and finished 13-1 in conference play. They were dominant for the majority of the season, winning 28 matches in 3-0 sweeps.
“It has been nerve-racking thinking about how to follow up last season,” head coach Kailee May said with a smile. “It often seemed like we were living a Cinderella story - there were some unreal moments that made last year feel magical.
“That being said, there are so many great programs with proven success that we had to go against in the last stretch of the season, and I think we were honestly outmatched in our last few matches. I used every tough match we played to plan and recruit for this year. I feel much better prepared to go up against the historically top-ranked teams this year. I know this team is capable of matching up against the top teams, and I’m excited to see how things pan out for us.”
The Lady Coyotes return a solid nucleus of talent highlighted by sophomore Lorena Gomez, who was the NTJCAC Setter of the Year in 2023. She averaged more than six assists per set with 768 overall. She also served 51 aces and had 296 defensive digs.
“She had a really solid spring season, and I’ve already seen so much improvement from her in our first week of practice from a leadership standpoint. She’ll be a huge factor in our success,” May said.
Sophomore right side hitter Abby Hellman was a force at the net last season with 37 blocks.
“She had more of a supporting role last season, but she has been lighting it up during two-a-days and has become so much more smooth and confident,” May said. “Those two will be a deadly combination.”
May noted the team also has a large freshman class, along with four transfers. The freshmen include Weronika Urbanska, a high-level player in Warsaw, Poland; Abby Morris, Utah Class 3A Player of the Year, who May said “has a cannon;” outside hitter Grace Owens, from San Antonio; and 6-foot-5-inch freshman Amelie Shalfoon, from New Zealand.
“They are all contributing right now in some way and have proven to be extremely physical,” May said.
May said she is still trying to answer for herself how the Coyotes got so good so quickly. She said a big factor is the resources the program has.
“We have wanted for nothing, and we have always been taken care of by the college and the athletic department. We are also in such a great area,” she said. “Weatherford is such an amazing community. It makes recruiting here an easy sell.
“I networked a ton to build a team that I felt would be competitive in year one, and obviously that has paid off. It made year two easier, and year three even easier to get really competitive athletes in.”
She said the program strives to create an environment where athletes genuinely love being in the gym.
“It’s competitive and intense, but I think we also really try to keep things light and fun,” she said. “The culture we have developed is what makes this an appealing program.”
May said the conference should be interesting this season with two coaching changes, noting “It will be interesting to see how those teams have changed.”
While she expects the conference to be competitive again, May said she has changed her recruiting tactics to bring in athletes that are going to take the team beyond winning the conference.
“We want to be contenders at nationals every year,” she said.
As for Region V, she said it will be “tough as always.” New Mexico Military Institute will host the Region V Tournament, which was hosted by WC last season.
“I intentionally scheduled them during preseason so we can get a feel for that road trip and playing in their gym,” May said. “I want to have every advantage possible when heading into the regional tournament, because I know it will be extremely competitive.”
While no national rankings have come out yet, the Coyotes are conference favorites again, and it would come as no surprise to see them nationally ranked. May welcomes her team being in the spotlight in her conference and has all the faith that they can repeat as champions.
“I would say that, based on the athletes we have, winning the conference should definitely be our goal,” she said. “I hope you’ll see us in the national rankings as well.”
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