Murfreesboro area high school volleyball 2017: What you need to know

Cecil Joyce
Murfreesboro Daily News Journal
Siegel’s Grace Reidmiller (10) and Julia Wheeler (5) defend the net during a match against Brentwood. Siegel lost to Brentwood 3 sets to 1 at Siegel High School, on Tuesday, Aug. 15 ,2017.

With the volleyball season under way, here's a look at what to expect from local teams during the 2017 season:

Players to watch

Sophia Bossong, So., Siegel: Has garnered national attention and is one of the state's top setters. Was an all-area player of the year finalist in 2016.

Paz Dozie-Nnmah, Sr., Blackman: Had more than 200 kills and was second-team all-area.

Hannah Dunn, Sr., Stewarts Creek: Led the team in assists a year ago.

Mariah Flint, Sr., Riverdale: Set the team record with .963 serving percentage. Will be taking over as libero.

Mackenzie Harris, Jr., MTCS: The first-team all-area performer and Abilene Christian commitment was also 9A MVP with 387 kills, 434 digs and 142 aces.

Kaylee Hewitt, Jr., Riverdale: Transfer from New Mexico, where she was a first-team all-district performer.

Kendall Hughes, Sr., Central Magnet: Was honorable mention all-area last season.

Kylie Hussain, Jr., MTCS: Recorded 259 digs and 23 aces in earning all-district in 2016.

Makenzie Jordan, Jr., Siegel: Coming off ACL surgery but had a good preseason after garnering 112 kills last season.

Kalynn Kimbel, Sr., MTCS: Had 162 kills, 61 digs and 55 blocks in 2016.

Delaney King, Sr., Blackman: Was second-team all-area last season.

Jenny Kinard, Sr., Riverdale: Led the team in kills, hitting average and kills per set in 2016.

Kara Nelms, Sr., Oakland: Martin Methodist commitment was a second-team all-area performer at outside hitter last season.

Julia Poarch, Jr., Siegel: First-team all-district performer had 52 aces and 484 digs last year.

Chandler Salvig, Sr., Oakland: Middle hitter is a Martin Methodist commitment.

Mary Catherine Smith, Sr., Central Magnet: Was first-team all-area with 333 kills and 133 aces.

Julia Wheeler, Jr., Siegel: Tennessee Tech commitment had 308 kills and 120 digs last season.

Keimora Wright, Sr., Oakland: Was honorable mention all-area last season.

McKenna Young, So., Stewarts Creek: Was all-area honorable mention as a freshman.

Quick hits

Young but experienced: Siegel returns five starters from last year's Class AAA final four squad, but only one (Mallory Black) is a senior. 

Change in scenery: The county's seven Class AAA volleyball teams no longer make up District 7-AAA. Oakland, Siegel, Blackman, Riverdale and Stewarts Creek are the five lone teams in 7-AAA now while Smyrna and La Vergne moved to 9-AAA to join Mt. Juliet, Wilson Central and Lebanon. 

New faces: There are several new coaches in the area this season. Kaitlyn Thornton is now in charge of the Oakland program. Madeline Burford has taken over at Blackman and Valerie Vied at Smyrna.

Top tournaments

Southern Slam at Coffee Co. High, Sept. 16 (MTCS); Juanita Boodie Tournament, Hoover, Ala., Sept. 1-2 (Siegel); B2B Tournament at Siegel, Sept. 15-16; Rocky Top Classic, Sevierville, Sept. 8-9 (Oakland); Bulldog Bash, at Smyrna. Stewarts Creek, Aug. 18-19.

Quotable

"Our team is in a great place right now. I have a lot of returners, and a lot of upperclassmen, including juniors. They are all very comfortable with each other, which correlates to their game on the court. We will be expecting a lot from each other, and have already been discussing that not reaching our goals is not an option." - Oakland coach Kaitlyn Thornton.

"With our move to Division II, this season brings many unknowns and lots of excitement. It was nice to be able to exit Division I with our school's first volleyball district championship, and now our girls are excited for a new challenge." - MTCS coach Troy Berry.

"We're in a brand new district this year, so new opponents and four returning varsity players have us excited for what should be another strong season. Last year we placed second in our district (a first for our school) and went to regions (for the first time). In the past five seasons, every season has shown marked improvement in wins and standings than the previous season. We're planning on continuing that growth." - Central Magnet coach Sarah Morris.