PLAIN CITY — Circumstances seemed to have stacked the deck against Fremont’s girls volleyball team prior to and throughout its match Thursday night against Farmington.
First, coach Analaine Mailoto missed tryouts while attending a funeral in American Samoa, then her booked flight home was delayed in Hawaii due to tsunami dangers and she missed two days of practice.
Speaking of bookings, Davis double-booked a scheduled match Tuesday with Fremont and the game was canceled, so Thursday was the Silverwolves’ first time on the court in competition.
With school not yet in session this year, no one thought to turn on the air-conditioner and two large fans at the east end of the “Wolf Den” did little to mitigate the heat of a 91-degree day outside.
Speaking of fans, more than 20 vociferous football players enthusiastically supported the volleyball team from the bleachers early in the match, but most had left by the time the fourth set finished.
BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner
Fremont High setter Brooklyn Smedley (4) reaches for the ball in a match against Farmington on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
A rotation error in the first set turned a 4-3 Fremont lead into a deficit and the Silverwolves lost it by three. Fremont led the frame 19-17 late, but Farmington closed on an 8-3 run to capture the 25-22 triumph.
Still, undaunted and undeterred, the Silverwolves prevailed 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-21) in a spirited non-region victory over the Phoenix.
“We had that weird beginning and I think that kind of contributed to it … broke down a little bit at the end, so that set was a little off,” Mailoto said. “We talked and said, ‘Are we going to worry about it or move on? We’re going to move on. OK, good, let’s move on.’ So that’s what we did.
“They did really good. We’re playing really mature right now. It’s our first game; we’re moving in the right direction,” Mailoto said.
Neither team had an extended streak during the final three sets, but Fremont clawed its way to the win.
BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner
Fremont High outside hitter Olivia Surrage rises to serve against Farmington on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
“The first game we got a little nervous but after we figured out where we were and where we stood, it helped us have more confidence and trust each other as a team and go out and win the next three,” tri-year junior Brooklyn Smedley said.
Set four, in particular, was tight, with 21 total ties or lead changes.
“We definitely had first game jitters, but we got over it,” Fremont middle Maya Jensen said. “We came together; we had a good talk about fighting for each other and playing together.
“Farmington is a good team and we were super glad to play them first.”
Jensen is one of two seniors for Fremont, with attrition, and West Field having siphoned off many would-be upperclassmen, contributing to a young team. She had one ace, five kills, one block and one assist for the Silverwolves during the match.
BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner
Fremont High students cheer a point during a volleyball match against Farmington on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
Libero Daphnie Moyes had 17 digs and the other Fremont senior, Addie Funk, smashed six kills. Outside hitter Olivia Surrage recorded a huge overall game with four aces, 11 kills and six digs.
Smedley was a big cog for the Silverwolves, tallying three aces, six kills and 28 assists.
“It was super fun; I love to set for all the girls. I feel like I did pretty good with the middles today and we really started to connect at the end,” Smedley said. “On my kills, you just have to be smart with where you place the ball on the other side of the net and control it.”
“I like to hit to seams and places where the setter might be coming up, because there’s going to be more holes,” Smedley said.
All of their travails are now water under the bridge and the Silverwolves look forward to a successful season.
BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner
Fremont High’s Olivia Surrage (14) eyes the ball during a match Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
“We did pretty good last year but this year we want to take state; that’s always the goal every year,” Jensen said.
Farmington hitter Sara Rathbun (20) rises for a swing at Fremont on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
Fremont High middle hitter Addie Funk (9) celebrates a point with her teammates, including Mia McArthur (2), on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
Fremont High setter Brooklyn Smedley receives the ball on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
Trevell Jordan couldn’t have been happier with where he was.
The Mesa, Ariz., native was a roughly 30-minute drive from home at nearby Grand Canyon University, playing volleyball as a freshman for a school that was coming off an appearance in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships.
Jordan started 21 matches before missing the last four with an injury and was named to the All-MPSF Freshman Team. The Lopes were eliminated in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament, but despite an 18-10 season, the plan was to run it back.
“We were a really young team, so we were pumped for the upcoming season,” Jordan said. “We had already made a bunch of plans of all the things we were going to do together to get ready.”
One meeting that came on a couple of hours’ notice and lasted all of five minutes changed everything.
“It came out of the blue, on one Sunday morning, where our coach texted our group chat and (wrote) the (athletics director) wants to meet with you guys,” Jordan recalled. “This was over the summer and half our team already left for home and we got to the meeting thinking it was going to be about what it was going to be like next year with the coaches. The AD walked in, said we are cutting your program, and we got two questions off before she booked it out of the room. It was quick.”
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Suddenly, Jordan had to find somewhere else to play volleyball. He had chosen Grand Canyon because it was so close to home.
Never did he ever think his next journey would take him to an island six hours away in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
“It was a big move to come across the ocean over here,” Jordan said.
Ultimately it was his connections to a bunch of players on the team that led to the 6-foot-10 sophomore middle blocker joining the Rainbow Warriors in the fall.
He knew sophomore hitter Finn Kearney, who grew up in nearby Phoenix, and also played with setter Tread Rosenthal, Justin Todd and opposite Kainoa Wade with Team USA.
Jordan was on the United States U21 team that won a bronze medal for the first time ever at the FIVB World Championships in China in August with Wade and Rosenthal.
“It was a really cool experience and achievement, especially for me. I didn’t make the first two USA teams. I was on the alternate roster, sadly, but I think that lit a fire underneath me for this last one,” Jordan said. “It really brought a better version out of me getting cut from those other two tryouts, and when I went in there, I went in with the mentality of, ‘I want to play.’”
That’s the same mentality Jordan is bringing into the practice gym at UH as he tries to crack the starting lineup on a loaded Hawaii team ranked No. 2 in the country in the preseason AVCA rankings entering today’s home opener against New Jersey Institute of Technology at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii lost Kurt Nusterer — who had one year left of eligibility but left to pursue a major career opportunity — in the middle but returns sophomore Ofeck Hazan. UH also landed a 7-foot freshman in Roman Payne and has Justin Todd, another Team USA alum who can play both on the outside and in the middle.
Jordan landed in Hawaii for the first time in August when he came to start school.
Off the court, the biggest difference was getting used to the palm trees and the tropical climate after spending his whole life growing up in the desert.
On the court, Jordan is used to playing with some of the best players in the country in his experiences with the USA team.
Compared to his one year at Grand Canyon, the major difference is the daily grind that comes in the practice gym.
“We’re all talented and there is for sure a standard that has been set to the highest bar that we have,” Jordan said. “And that’s why you have to come into the gym every day to compete. There’s always going to be someone better than you, so that’s why you want to play to the best of your ability every day in the gym and get as much out of each other as you can.”
TREVELL JORDAN
6-10, Soph., Middle Blocker
All-MPSF Freshman Team (at Grand Canyon)
Hit .889 for Team USA to win bronze at FIVB World Championships
DeLand won its sixth consecutive district title and made the furthest postseason run in the Volusia-Flagler area in 2025.
The Bulldogs advanced to the Region 1-7A semifinals but had to play Winter Park, the No. 1 team in Florida. DeLand’s season came to an end there, but it was still a successful campaign for one of the area’s perennial powers.
Libero/Defensive Specialist: Ava Bessette, Iola, sr.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The 2025 Marion County girls volleyball season was one to remember. We saw breakout performances from outside hitters all over the Ocala area. The Trinity Catholic Celtics went undefeated in the county while fielding one of the program’s most talented rosters. Forest made history with its ninth county title in a row under head coach Jim Collins.
The season was much more than those leading lines. We saw scores of volleyball players give their all in hopes of having the best season of their careers. Now that the ball is no longer in play, the Star-Banner is ready to unveil the latest edition of all-Marion County volleyball players.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – It’s not uncommon for athletes to transfer schools in this era of collegiate sports.
However, for new University of Hawaii middle blocker Trevell Jordan, it wasn’t a move he was expecting to make.
Jordan — who has U.S. National team experience — had a stellar freshman season at Grand Canyon University, playing in all 21 of the Lopes’ matches as a freshman, amassing 111 kills and 67 blocks.
In April, the GCU team was blindsided when the school announced that it would no longer sponsor the sport.
“None of us saw it coming, like it was out of the blue,” Jordan said. “Went into this meeting thinking it was just gonna be how like next year was gonna go, and then that’s what they dropped the bomb, and like the meeting was like five minutes before they left.”
It was reclassified as a club sport with GCU putting out a release saying that the move was to stay competitive with other NCAA Division I programs.
Grand Canyon just joined the Mountain West Conference, a league that does not carry men’s volleyball.
With the abrupt shutdown, it left the entire Lopes roster looking for a new home, with many players catching the eyes of coaches around the country.
Jordan found his way to Manoa.
“He had offers to go to every top program in the country and ironically they were pushing him to make a fast decision,” UH head coach Charlie Wade said. “They pushed him towards us because I was the one saying, ‘hey, I’m in for the long haul, I want you here, take your time to figure it out.’”
Jordan is now getting accustomed to volleyball in the islands as he joins a squad with big aspirations in 2026.
UH ended last season one game shy of the National Championship.
“The difference in commitment here with the fans, the program, the school, as at GCU, we didn’t get as much love as we did like any other sport,” Jordan said. “It’s been really cool, the team and squad has been really inviting, so they’ve been working with me to get more like accommodated to here.”
Jordan and the ‘Bows open the 2026 season on Friday, the first of two home matches against the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
First serve is set for 7 p.m. Hawaii time.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
