WILLIAMSBURG \u2014 David Halcomb\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lady Colonels are winners of three straight regional crowns with hopes of making it four in a row this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe expectations we have going into this season are as high as they have ever been,\u201d Whitley County coach David Halcomb said. \u201cWe 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 \u2014 once you get there, anything can happen. I think we have the talent and depth to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have a very good core of returning players on this year’s team,\u201d he added. \u201cWe 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI’m very proud of Chandra Price, Courtney Claxton and Abby Lawson,\u201d Halcomb continued, \u201cTo 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Halcomb noted Jonna Rice will be the Lady Colonels\u2019 setter while Kylea Ray Collier will be the team\u2019s Libero. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJonna continues to get better every day,\u201d he said. \u201cShe 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are super-excited and blessed to have Reagan Isaac, Jordan Smith, Jada Smith and Presley Spicer join our program over the offseason,\u201d he added. \u201cIt’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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReagan 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,\u201d Halcomb added. \u201cShe 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\u2019s biggest strengths are <\/p>\n\n\n\n
unity, humility and work ethic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis team has bonded together very quickly and has already developed the mentality of playing for something beyond themselves,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously, our talent and depth is a big strength for us, but they have the desire to play for one another and to play hard \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI guess my biggest concerns from what we’ve seen so far is on the defensive side of the net,\u201d Halcomb added. \u201cOur 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.\u201dHalcomb pit together a slate that will have his team ready for the battles in postseason play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think our schedule will have us prepared for the postseason,\u201d he said. \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.13thregionmedianetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/my-project-14-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"