WILLIAMSBURG — David Halcomb’s Whitley County Lady Colonels enter the 2025 campaign as the clear-cut favorites in the 13th Region after returning a stellar roster and not to mention four transfers that include 2024 13th Region Player of the Year, Reagan Isaac.
The Lady Colonels are winners of three straight regional crowns with hopes of making it four in a row this fall.
“The expectations we have going into this season are as high as they have ever been,” Whitley County coach David Halcomb said. “We carry a lot of momentum from last season in that a lot of folks doubted us, but our girls remained confident and were able to win another region championship. So, that momentum has been good for us going into the offseason. We return five players from that team who saw significant playing time last season. We’ve also added some outstanding players to our program to go along with our returners. Our goals are not only to get back to the State Tournament, but to advance to at least semifinals — once you get there, anything can happen. I think we have the talent and depth to do that.
“We have a very good core of returning players on this year’s team,” he added. “We lost three seniors from last year and they will definitely be missed. We also have three seniors on this year’s team, and we will depend on all of them in order for us to reach our goals this season.
“I’m very proud of Chandra Price, Courtney Claxton and Abby Lawson,” Halcomb continued, “To watch them develop their skill level to where it is now is very gratifying from a coach’s standpoint. Courtney is a great communicator and one of our hardest workers on the court and in the weight room – she has been vital in maintaining our culture in the way we go about things every day. Abby has worked really hard in the offseason and has improved her hitting immensely on the right side. I think Chandra is one the best all-around volleyball players we’ve had in our program. She is asked to play multiple positions, and we have confidence in her to perform at a high level no matter where we put her. She has had a great attitude and puts the work in to get better. These seniors have continued to set the standard for our younger girls to follow.
Halcomb noted Jonna Rice will be the Lady Colonels’ setter while Kylea Ray Collier will be the team’s Libero.
“Jonna continues to get better every day,” he said. “She gets our hitters where they need to be and can use a variety of sets to allow our offense to work. I believe that Jonna is one of the best setters in the state and I hope that she begins to get recognized for that. Kylea will once again be our libero. I can’t say enough about her – our team feeds off her energy and enthusiasm. Her movement on the court and passing accuracy is phenomenal.
“We are super-excited and blessed to have Reagan Isaac, Jordan Smith, Jada Smith and Presley Spicer join our program over the offseason,” he added. “It’s been a special thing to watch how these girls have just blended right in with our team, just like they have always been here. I’m proud of them and our returning players for accepting and loving each other — it’s been great. They are outstanding volleyball players, but also, wonderful, sweet kids. I’m excited for our fans to see these girls play.
“Reagan will be an outside hitter for us and is a difference maker on the court in all areas of the game. She is one of the top players in the state and her ability to hit the ball is next level,” Halcomb added. “She reads the floor really well and makes great decisions with the ball. Jordan is one of the most athletic kids we have and can play any position on the floor for us. She is a tremendous defender and has great pursuit of the ball. We can use her as a front row player at any point as well when we need her to do that and will at various times this season. Like Reagan and Jordan, Jada is a huge addition to our program. She will mostly hold down the other outside hitter position and she can attack the ball with the best of them. Jada also will be one of our best servers on the team. We also expect to see contributions from juniors Abigail Jones, Olivia Bennett and Arianna Deanda.Halcomb said he feels one of his team’s biggest strengths are
unity, humility and work ethic.
“This team has bonded together very quickly and has already developed the mentality of playing for something beyond themselves,” he said. “Obviously, our talent and depth is a big strength for us, but they have the desire to play for one another and to play hard — that’s what makes talented teams special. We have so many talented young players too who will be competing for Varsity playing time. The young players make our practices very competitive. I’ve been very impressed with sophomores Adrienne Brown and Lydia Hale. I think they will also see playing time at the Varsity level at points this season.
“I guess my biggest concerns from what we’ve seen so far is on the defensive side of the net,” Halcomb added. “Our blocking has to get better and defensive cohesiveness needs to improve. It has gotten better and will continue and that’s one of those things that kind of happens on its own just by playing more matches. We have great individual defenders, it’s just a matter of it coming together, but I’m quite confident it will.”Halcomb pit together a slate that will have his team ready for the battles in postseason play.
“I think our schedule will have us prepared for the postseason,” he said. “We have tournaments at Allen County-Scottsville, the 2A Champions, our First Priority Classic and a tough tournament at Lafayette towards the end of the season.
“I really like our chances to win another 50th District Tournament and 13th Region champions,” Halcomb added. “It won’t be easy and we talk about that just about every day. I expect Corbin, Harlan County, Bell County and South Laurel to have really good teams. We aren’t overlooking anyone and we respect those programs and the work they have put in. We know we have the opportunity to have an extremely good team, but our girls are humble and have taken a business-like approach in our practices.
“I’m proud of my asstistant coaches Heather Smith, Mickayla McCoig and Caitlyn Decker,” Halcomb continued. “They are simply the best. Together, we have developed a culture that is second to none. Our team is truly like a family and we wouldn’t be where we are without the work they put in. Also, give credit to our strength and conditioning coach Zach Jacobs. He pushes our players to their limit in the weight room and that correlates to great stamina on the court. It’s going to be an exciting season and I hope our fans will get out early and come watch our team play — they won’t be disappointed.”
