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The halls at Jackson County High School are growing busier each year, and so is the volleyball court.

As the county’s population surges, more students are filling classrooms, lockers and tryout lists. The squeak of sneakers and the thud of volleyballs echo through the gym as coaches call out drills, a reflection of how fast the community and its competition are growing.

With more players trying out than ever, coaches and athletes have had to adjust to a more selective environment that’s reshaping team dynamics. As the Panthers close the book on their season, which included a second-round playoff run for the second straight year, Laura Keefer is already reflecting on what she learned in her first year leading the program.

“So when I came for tryouts in May, we had 72 girls here for tryouts, and that was a lot,” Keefer said. “I’ve been at a smaller private school for the past nine years, but even when I talked to other friends in public high schools and I told them how many girls we had, they said that’s a really big number, too.”

Over the past decade, Jackson County has been one of Georgia’s fastest-growing areas. The high school, which opened in 2021 to accommodate the surge in population, has already hit capacity. Public development director Jamie Dove said the county’s growth is fueled by its location and livability.

“There are just a lot of things to drive people here,” Dove said. Jackson County is an interstate drive away from Atlanta and Greenville, S.C., “and I’m a day trip to the beach and a two-hour drive to the mountains. So it’s a gem of a location.”

Jackson County’s population jumped from 75,907 in 2020 to an estimated 93,825 in 2024, according to the development department. 

For two years in a row now, we have been the fourth-fastest-growing county in the country,” Dove said.

At Jackson County High, that growth has led to what students call “learning cottages,” temporary classrooms used to handle overflow. Siena Berthold, a senior at Jackson County and member of the volleyball team, mentioned this.

“They’re called learning cottages,” Berthold said, “but they’re not learning cottages — they’re trailers.”

Keefer brought two decades of experience from smaller schools and club teams to Jackson County High’s volleyball program. Now that the season is over, Keefer said the tryout and cut process is still on her mind, especially as she thinks ahead to next year.

“The positive side of that is I had a lot of talent in the gym to choose from,” Keefer said. “The hard part is I don’t think everybody realizes it’s truly a gut-wrenching process for me. I had to cut a lot of talent.”

For players, the population boom means that earning a jersey is no longer guaranteed. The competition drives everyone to push harder and succeed.  

​​“It’s just a great group because everyone wants to play volleyball,” Berthold said. “You have more competition, so everyone wants to play better.”

The volleyball team’s rise mirrors growing community pride. Home matches now draw bigger crowds. Jackson County Schools have also made athletic and academic expansion a strategic priority.

“Our board of education does a great job of letting us hire earlier than other school systems,” Hooper said. “It’s a daily tracking of enrollment, and for human resources, it’s a daily tracking of students.”

So far, the volleyball program has not faced gym or scheduling conflicts with other sports. Keefer said the athletic department’s collaboration has been essential to that success.

Our administration does a fantastic job and really all of our teams together,” Keefer said. “We support each other.”

As Jackson County prepares to open Hoschton High School in 2027 to accommodate population growth, the volleyball program at Jackson County High School may eventually face a split, with players and families drawn toward the new school. This shift could reshape existing rivalries and create new opportunities for athletes across the county.

After one season coaching in Jackson County, Keefer said she now better understands how deep that talent pool runs, and how a future school could split and reshape it. 

“I imagine most of the upperclassmen would stay and want to finish out and graduate where they’ve been,” Keefer said. “As far as the long term, obviously the pool of talent like we’ve had these huge numbers coming in right, that’s going to be divided now.”

Ellie English is a student in the undergraduate certificate program at the Carmical Sports Media Institute at UGA. 

 

How can I watch the game?

Since the NCAA began sanctioning a national championship in women’s volleyball in 1981, there have been six occasions in which the teams competing for the title were from the same conference. On Sunday, the seventh such match will happen.

Kentucky faces Texas A&M for the championship on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC), making it an all-Southeastern Conference battle for the title. The previous such occurrences were in 1981 (USC vs. UCLA), 1984 (Stanford vs. UCLA), 1992 (Stanford vs. UCLA), 1994 (Stanford vs. UCLA), 2002 (USC vs. Stanford) and 2021 (Wisconsin vs. Nebraska).

This is a significant accomplishment for the SEC. Until this year, the conference only had three appearances in the championship match ever. Florida made it in 2003 and 2017, finishing as runner-up both times. Kentucky won the NCAA title in 2020. But this year, the conference was strong, with three teams in the Elite Eight and two in the Final Four, both of whom ultimately ended up in the title match. UK head coach Craig Skinner is not surprised that two SEC teams are in the finals.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two SEC teams are playing for the national championship,” Skinner said. “The coaches in our league have worked incredibly hard to put ourselves on the map and to make the SEC a volleyball powerhouse. I also need to give credit to all the coaches and the grassroots of the Southeastern Conference to make that happen.”

Skinner saluted his fellow SEC volleyball coaches, who have improved their programs, making the conference schedule a true gauntlet.

“Kudos to the SEC and the coaches in our league for getting our conference in the position to be an elite league in the sport of volleyball in the NCAA,” Skinner said. “Proud to be part of Kentucky and the Southeastern Conference.”

Texas A&M head coach Jamie Morrison believes that a tough SEC regular season, followed by a conference tournament, has prepared these two teams to be in this position.

“We’re one of the most prepared teams in the country,” Morrison said. “Kentucky is the same way because they had the same path. I think it’s really good for our conference.”

The Cats and Aggies met on Oct. 8 in College Station. In that match, Texas A&M won the first set, but Kentucky rallied to win the last three to claim the victory. Eva Hudson had 24 kills and Brooklyn DeLeye had 19 for the Cats, who hit .293 in the match. Logan Lednicky had 21 kills for the Aggies and Kyndal Stowers added 13. Kentucky junior Asia Thigpen remembers that match, but also realizes that both teams have evolved since then.

“We beat them, but they had a really good offensive night,” Thigpen said. “That’s what we remember. We’ve seen their matches versus Louisville and Nebraska, just like their big block presence. They’ve grown as a team since then. We have, too.”

Kentucky freshman setter Kassie O’Brien echoed her teammate’s thoughts.

“Yes, we’ve played them in the past. Like we said earlier, both teams are completely different now,” O’Brien said. “A&M is playing really good volleyball, but so are we. It’s just going to be a great match and I’m looking forward to it.”

On Sunday in Kansas City, the SEC will make history and Kentucky hopes to bring a second national championship home to Lexington.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 3 seed Texas A&M volleyball team squares off with No. 1 seed Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament National Championship Sunday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center with first serve set for 2:30 p.m.
 

The Aggies kept their historic campaign alive after downing their second-straight No. 1 seed in the Pitt Panthers to book their spot in the program’s first national final. The Maroon & White battled into extras to take the opener (29-27), then followed on with a dominant showing in sets two (25-21) and three (25-20) to secure their 17th sweep of the year.
 

Texas A&M’s offense fired on all cylinders thanks to the direction of Maddie Waak. The setter dished 48 assists in the contest which was a postseason program record in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era. Waak’s pins delivered the blows as Kyndal Stowers and Logan Lednicky accounted for 30 kills with 16 and 14, respectively. The team’s efficiency stood out on the box score, as the group hit at .382 which marked the 13th time over .300 this season.
 
On the defensive end the nation’s premier middle blocker, Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, continued to be a force at the net, recording five blocks in the contest which marked her fifth-straight game with five or more and 19th this season.
 
The Matchup

Sunday’s contest between Texas A&M and Kentucky will be the first the 28th all-time meeting between the teams. The Wildcats hold a 17-10 advantage in the series, however the Maroon & White are 2-0 when the team’s meet on a neutral court.
 
Kentucky has claimed the last four battles between the teams, including a four-set affair in Reed Arena this season which was the Aggies’ only conference loss on the year.
 

Looking at the stat sheet, the Maroon & White lead Kentucky in four of the seven team statistical categories including hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, aces per set and blocks per set, while the Wildcats have the advantage in kills per set, assists per set and digs per set.
 
Tracks and Trends
Logan Lednicky has recorded double-digit kills in her last 22 matches and passed Hollann Hans for the rally-scoring kills record and ranks third overall in career kills at Texas A&M.
 
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla has logged five or more blocks in her last six games and is one blocks away from tying the program record for career blocks of 562. She is also five blocks from reaching 200 on the year.
 

Texas A&M became just the third No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament history to dispatch two No. 1 seeds, joining UCLA in 2011 and Nebraska in 2021.
 
Streaming & Stats
Fans can watch the match on the ABC and follow stats on 12thman.com.
 
Follow the Aggies
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.

It’s been a crazy three days for the Wisconsin Badgers. On Thursday, they had a heartbreaking loss to the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA National Semifinal. On Friday, they lost five players to the transfer portal.

Well, on Saturday, amid all the portal craziness, Wisconsin landed a commitment from Florida Gators transfer middle blocker Jaela Auguste, she announced.

Auguste, a sophomore this past season, had a great season, earning the following accolades after the season: AVCA Third Team All-American, AVCA Southeast Region First Team, All-SEC First Team, and SEC Preseason All-SEC Team.

She averaged 2.69 kills and 0.98 blocks per set for the Gators in 2025.

Wisconsin was likely to make an addition at middle blocker, as they’re losing starters Carter Booth and Alicia Andrew to eligibility, creating a hole in the middle. Additionally, redshirt freshman Tosia Serafinowska is entering the transfer portal, taking away some depth at the position.

With a loaded freshman class, it’s unclear how busy the Badgers will be in the transfer portal after a strong class last year, as they have Grace Lopez returning from injury. But, they quickly moved to get a big commitment from Auguste.

A pair of Nebraska volleyball players received top positional awards on Friday. Bergen Reilly and Andi Jackson received the honors at the AVCA Awards Banquet in Kansas City. Reilly was named the Setter of the Year and Jackson was named Middle Blocker of the Year. The AVCA positional awards are new this season.

Reilly averaged 10.47 assists per set and 2.70 digs per set. She also totaled 73 kills, 67 blocks and 19 aces. The setter was named Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Setter of the Year and a first-team AVCA All-American. She was also a finalist for AVCA Player of the Year.

Jackson averaged 2.74 kills per set on .467 hitting with 1.12 blocks per set and 16 aces. Her .467 hitting percentage led the nation. The middle blocker was an AVCA All-American and All-Big for the second straight season. She was also an AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist.